Teana's Travels Book 36: Prisms' Light
by D.K.N
Summary: Illya, Miyu, & Kuro first swing by the Pokemon world, and get caught up in an unexpected new crisis that threatens the entire Alola region, if not the world. Then, they return to Miyu's world to finally settle things with the Ainsworths. The Broken God and the Ainsworth Patriarch will provide these girls their toughest challenges yet. Rated T for violence & language
1. Melemele

Okay, so… I can't FINISH this Book until _Prisma Illya 3rei_ , or at least the current epic battle it's in the middle of, is done, but I can START it and do the first part of it, covering Team Illya having a new little adventure in the Pokémon world before heading off to deal with Julian.

 **THE FOLLOWING THINGS ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS; I DO NOT OWN THEM AND MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THIS STORY**

 _Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha_ (Teana, various other characters) – 7Arcs

 _Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni_ (Shion and friends/family) – 07th Expansion and Studio Deen

 _Shuffle!_ (Kaede Fuyō and associated characters) – Navel and Asread

 _Erika's New Perfume_ (Marie, Sarah, Erika, Timmy, Veronica) – DeviantArtist 'Lance the Young'

 _Mai-chan's Daily Life_ (Mai, Kizuna) – Waita Uziga

 _Star Wars_ (Ahsoka, Cody, Rex, _Force Unleashed_ cast) – George Lucas, Lucasfilm

 _Halo_ (Forerunners, UNSC, Sangheili Alliance) – Bungie, 343 Industries

 _StarCraft_ (multiple characters, events, and devices) – Blizzard Entertainment

 _Naruto_ (characters, techniques, abilities) – Masashi Kishimoto

 _Mahō Sensei Negima_ (characters, spells, abilities) – Ken Akamatsu

 _Kingdom Hearts_ (characters, weapons, enemies, concepts) – Square-Enix

 _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ (characters, concepts, tech) – Studio Gainax

 _Elfen Lied_ (Kaede K., others) – Lynn Okamoto, Arms

 _Red vs. Blue_ (The Blood-Gulch Crew, the ex-Freelancers) – Rooster Teeth

 _My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic_ – Hasbro, Lauren Faust

 _Transformers Film Series_ – Hasbro, Michael Bay

 _Transformers: Beast Wars_ – Hasbro, Mainframe Entertainment

 _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ – Kazuki Takahashi, Viz Media

 _Sonic the Hedgehog_ – SEGA

 _Gears of War_ – Epic Games

 _Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles_ – Columbia Tristar (I think)

 _Mass Effect_ – Bioware

 _Metroid_ – Nintendo

 _Puella Magi Madoka Magica_ – Gen Urobuchi, SHAFT

 _The Legend of Zelda_ – Nintendo

 _Tōhō_ – ZUN

 _RWBY_ – Rooster Teeth

 _Pretty Cure / PreCure_ – Toei Animation

 _Kill La Kill_ – Trigger

 _Cross Ange_ – Sunrise

 _Cardcaptor Sakura_ – Clamp

 _Sailor Moon_ – Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha

 _Sailor Nothing_ – used with express permission of Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne; please visit his website for _SN_ and his other original works

 _ **Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya**_ **– TYPE-MOON**

 _ **Pokémon**_ **– Nintendo, GameFreak**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **BOOK START**_ **-**

 **Realm PKM-42 – Alola Region – Southeast of Hau'oli City**

 **One Day After End of Book 35**

Illya, Miyu, and Kuro stood in front of the door of the big beachfront laboratory/shack, the quiet black-haired girl knocking a few times. After a handful of seconds the door opened, and Professor Kukui smiled as he saw the three familiar faces.

"Hey, kiddos! Welcome back! What brings ya here? Any adventures since I last saw ya? Besides the whole 'Groudon & Kyogre going berserk' thing they mentioned on the news, I mean."

"You heard about that, huh?" Kuro grinned. "Yeah, that was a giant mess. Anyway, pretty soon we're gonna head over to Miyu's home-world and wrap things up with the Ainsworth family, so we came here first to try and relax on the beach for a couple days so we're rested & ready. Fuuka-chan's training elsewhere with her teacher, if you're wondering. And since we last saw you, I caught a Sneasel, Illya got a Butterfree, Miyu got an Alolan Vulpix, and my Rowlet evolved."

"Well, sounds like I've missed quite a bit! Why dontcha come on in and lemme have a look at your teams, see how they're doin'? Oh, but first, it looks like you've got a follower~"

He pointed, and the three girls spun around just in time to catch a split-second glimpse of something small hastily ducking behind a shrub a few meters away. After a few seconds, a tiny little fairy slowly floated back out – a Floette, holding a big pink-petaled flower, looking up at the three girls with nervous curiosity. Illya knelt down, giving the little Fairy-type a gentle smile, and after a few seconds a cautious shy smile formed on its little face. As the girls entered Kukui's lab-shack, the Floette followed them.

Once inside, the girls kicked back on the old, well-worn but still comfy couch, while Prof. Kukui took the easy-chair, and his Incineroar started making something in the kitchen (despite being a big, scary-looking, pro-wrestler Pokémon, he liked to cook and was quite good at it). The trio let their Pokémon out, and the Pokémon seemed to then strike up a conversation with the visiting Floette; as the girls told Kukui of their recent adventures, the Floette's shy nervousness gradually abated, the little Fairy-type becoming more comfortable and learning more about the three little humans.

"So, before you girls chill at the beach," Kukui said, "wanna maybe check out Iki Town just up north from here? They got a barbecue place there that's to _die_ for! And maybe you can meet Kahuna Hala, or even head to the guardian Tapu's shrine to ask for success in the trials ahead."

"You had me at 'barbecue'" Kuro grinned.

As Illya turned to her Cottonee and Butterfree, the Floette came up to her with them, fidgeting lightly and looking up at her expectantly. After a couple seconds, Illya's eyes widened, and she pulled out an empty Poké-Ball, pointing at it and giving a questioning look. The Floette nodded. Kukui handed Illya a Premier Ball, and she held it out to let the Floette bop it. The little Pokémon became a mass of light that flowed into the shiny white Poké-Ball, which trembled for a moment before going still. Illya let her brand-new Floette out, and she & the little Fairy-type looked at each other with matching smiles.

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

A while later, the 'Prisma Trio' walked through the gates of Iki Town, looking around at the traditionally-designed houses and the occasional Tapu-themed totem poles. A few people and Pokémon waved to the three cute little visitors as they went about their daily routines. They looked around as they moved through the village, until they came up to the home of Hala, Melemele Island's Kahuna. A piece of paper was taped to the front door, explaining that Hala was out shopping at Hau'oli City and would be back later.

It was still a little while before lunch, so for now the trio started to head toward the Tapu Shrine, heading up the forested path carved into the hills. As they advanced, though, catching sight of a small flock of Pikipep flying overhead, Kaleido Ruby & Kaleido Sapphire suddenly shivered.

"What's wrong?" Miyu asked them.

"I'm not sure, Miyu-sama" Sapphire replied. "I just got a strange, uncomfortable feeling. Hold on a moment while I boot up my sensors…"

Ruby followed her younger sister's lead, two antennae extending from the two sapient magical devices' tops. After a few seconds, the antenna-tops flashed and beeped.

"Something's happening, Illya-san!" Kaleido Ruby announced. "There's a dimensional disturbance – the barrier between this world and another one is about to fracture! Something's about to come through!"

The air seemed to shudder, and then with a muted tearing sound a swirling jagged hole in reality opened up, about 10 feet across. The self-regulating nature of existence meant the hole quickly became circular and smoothed out, stabilizing somewhat, and then a big red object flew through. The 'object' landed with a thug on four spindly legs, straightening up and looming over the girls, its body apparently musclebound to levels even a bodybuilder would call extreme, the two long antennae atop its head flickering as its silver long, thing proboscis pointed down at the girls, big orange insect wings fluttering out from its back.

"What… the _hell_ is that?" Illya said.

"It's big and buff and I don't think it's too happy" Kuro pointed out, observing the strange creature's body language. "Hey, I'm still learning about the different kinds of Pokémon, but I don't remember this one; anyone know about any kind of Pokémon that looks like a giant mosquito on stero-"

The invader swung one of its meaty fists down at the girls, who scattered to avoid, seeing the hard-packed earth where they'd been standing shattered. The three of them quickly transformed, and the Buzzwole lunged at Miyu, who threw up a star-shaped shield to block its punch; the magical construct came away with a spiderweb of cracks, barely holding together, and she let it dispel while making a magic-powered leap over the red Ultra Beast's follow-up attack.

Miyu fired a wave of pale-blue magic bolts, but the Buzzwole barely flinched from their impacts, shrugging off the hits and grabbing a very big rock off the ground nearby. It winded back to chuck the 70-pound stone at Miyu, only for an explosive arrow fired by Kuro to blow the rock into pebbles. The Ultra Beast turned and glared at the pink-haired girl, shaking the slight stinging pain out of its wrist, and then it rushed at her with both fists striking over and over so fast they blurred. Kuro leapt and danced back to dodge the Comet Punch barrage, but then the Buzzwole abruptly shifted its aim to hit the ground beneath her, upsetting her footing and letting it hit her with a powerful punch that sent her tumbling.

Illya released a double _Shcneiden_ that the Buzzwole raised its arms to block, and then she sent out her Butterfree, Cottonee, and Floette. Kuro and Miyu followed suit – Kuro deployed her Dartrix and Sneasel, while Miyu's Popplio and Alolan Vulpix came out to aid their Trainer. A mixed barrage of Dartrix's Razor Leaf, Alolan Vulpix's Powder Snow, and Cottonee's Fairy Wind buffeted the Ultra Beast, which braced itself and fought through the attacks, standing its ground. Then, the beast flexed, and a red aura briefly clung to it, Bulk Up increasing its already-high strength and durability a little. It charged, and Kuro's Sneasel barely avoided being speared by a Leech Life attack, countering with Night Slash but not doing too much damage.

Floette briefly spun and sang, and a sparkling Lucky Chant aura protected her and her human & Pokémon allies. Spores of thick cotton from Cottonee clung to the Buzzwole as it charged at Kuro, slowing its movements and letting her nimbly dodge its attempt to Hammer Arm her into the dirt. Unfortunately, it managed to grab her when she went for a counter-strike, its Vital Throw knocking her for a loop. Dartrix frowned and hit the Ultra Beast with the strongest Gust he could muster, actually making the Buzzwole stagger back for a moment, and an Icy Wind from Miyu's Vulpix left the beast caked with frost. The bits of ice broke off when the beast flexed, however, and it came at the ice-fox with a lunging Power-Up Punch that knocked her back. Thankfully, Vulpix's Popplio partner got her out of the way of the Buzzwole's follow-up.

There was a flash of sparkly light as Illya summoned her Keyblade, shooting at the Ultra Beast with a single wave of Prism Rain bolts and a Fira chaser. The multicolored mana blasts did little damage, but the fireball to the face got the beast's attention, leaving it scorched and glaring angrily at the little white-haired girl. It charged at her stinger-first, and Illya squeaked as she barely avoided being skewered by its armored proboscis. Her Butterfree sent slicing waves of wind, the Air Slashes hitting Buzzwole in the chest, but it ignored the hits and went for Illya again. The young mage cried out as the Buzzwole faked her out and got her with a falling blow that knocked her to the ground, dazed, and then it leapt and prepared to crush her with an elbow drop…

There was a flash of yellow as a Thunderbolt crashed into the Buzzwole, stunning it and knocking it to the side. A comet of yellow energy slammed down to the ground between Illya and the attacking Ultra Beast, and her unexpected protector was revealed as a sprite-like being with a small and slender black body with bits of yellow & orange, its thin black arms holding onto two huge yellow & white shells that seemed to form the two halves of a bird-like mask or helmet, and a large orange crest stuck up from its head. Lastly, the girls could sense that this little entity was _very_ powerful. With a crackling cry, Tapu Koko glared up at the Buzzwole getting back on its feet, and the huge red mosquito-man let out an angry buzz in return.

"A Tier-1 Legendary…" Kuro breathed out. "One of this region's four guardians!"

As Illya got back on her feet, Kuro summoning her Keyblade and using a Cure spell to heal her sister, the Buzzwole lashed out with a mighty punch at Tapu Koko, only for the totem Pokémon to slip out of the way and ram into the monster's side with an electrified tackle, the Spark attack knocking Buzzwole back. The beast tried to cock its arm back for a Hammer Arm, but a barrage of ice kunai from Sneasel struck first, the Ice Shards hitting its shoulder and leaving it open to a mana blast from Miyu. Floette released a flurry of Magical Leaves, the glowing projectiles curling around Tapu Koko and converging toward Buzzwole; Tapu Koko imbued the attack with Fairy-type energy as they passed for some extra kick, and then fired an Electro Ball in their wake. The one-two punch knocked the Buzzwole back, the beast letting out a growling buzz.

A mixture of Fairy Wind from Floette, Icy Wind from Vulpix, and Ominous Wind from Dartrix battered at Buzzwole, and then Tapu Koko blitzed in with a Quick Attack. The beast grabbed the little electric sprite, who then smirked and cast Discharge at point-blank range, the electrical energy surging through and across the Ultra Beast's massive body. A flash of pink light and distorted air accompanied Tapu Koko's 'Nature's Madness' attack against the still-stunned Buzzwole, and then twin Keyblade strikes from Illya & Kuro and a simultaneous magic blast from Miyu knocked the struggling giant over.

Growling and stumbling, the Buzzwole got to its 'feet'. Then, it suddenly turned and took to the air, flying into and through the Ultra Wormhole, which then collapsed in on itself and closed. The gang caught their breath, Illya letting herself fall back onto her butt as she dispelled her Keyblade.

"What the heck was _that_?" she said aloud between softly panting.

-X-

Around an hour later, at Iki Town, the girls sat together with Professor Kukui and Kahuna Hala, with Tapu Koko off to the side listening in. The girls had just finished telling the two adults of what had happened.

"This is troublesome" Hala said. "I recently received word from the other Kahunas that there have been strange sightings the last couple days – glowing holes in space and strange new creatures. It brings to mind one of Alola's legends…"

Professor Kukui turned to the girls. "They say that a few centuries ago," he said, "Alola was invaded by strange creatures, led by one that was exceptionally powerful and sought to consume our land's light. It's said that the four Tapus together weren't enough to defeat the beast, but once Solgaleo & Lunala joined forces with them the six of them managed to push the invaders back and drive them away, back to wherever they came from. Maybe, whatever tried to invade back then is starting to try again…"

"…How can we help?" Illya asked.

Tapu Koko crowed softly, getting everyone's attention, and then he focused his power as motes of light sparkled into being and began to swirl around, coalescing into three masses. With a soft flash of light, they formed into a trio of sparkling stones with a rough 'Z' shape on them, which Tapu Koko then floated over to the three girls. Hala's eyes widened.

"Girls…" he said. "Those stones are the primary ingredients for Z-Power Rings, artifacts that allow Pokémon Trainers to unleash their Pokémon's Z-Moves. I can make Z-Rings out of those for you… but to really use them, you'll need Z-Crystals to go with them. To get those, you'll need to complete some of Alola's Trials."

"Considering how things might be about to get really crazy really soon," Kukui said, "you girls should probably just focus on getting the Z-Crystals that match your Pokémon's types; you can always come back for the others when you get other Pokémon in the future, maybe after you've dealt with these invaders and the bad folks you're gettin' set to take on. Though, to be allowed to start you'll have to also get the Normal Z-Crystal. Thankfully, that challenge is here on Melemele Island; just go north and find Verdant Cavern; I'll tell Trial Captain Ilima to meet you girls there. Now, let's see your Pokémon so we can see which other Z-Crystals you should go for."

Illya, Miyu, & Kuro sent out their Pokémon – Cottonee, Butterfree, and Floette for Illya; Popplio and Alolan Vulpix for Miyu; and Sneasel & Dartrix for Kuro.

"Hmm…" Kukui stroked his chin. "Illya, you've got Grass, Fairy, Bug, and Flying. To get the Flying-type Z-Crystal, you gotta find Kahili; right now, she's training at Ten-Carat Hill, just west of my lab. For the Grass Crystal, you'll need to go to Akala Island and find Mallow. For Bug, find Guzma on Ula'Ula Island. And for Fairy, you gotta go to Mina on Poni Island.

"Lil' Miyu, you've got Water and Ice, but both of your Pokémon will be part Fairy in their final forms. As I said, Mina's the Fairy-type Captain, on Poni; for Water, find Lana on Akala Island, at Brooklet Hill. And for the Ice Z-Crystal, you'll need to fight the Totem Glalie on Mt. Lanakila on Ula'Ula Island.

"Kuro, you've got Grass, Flying, Dark, and Ice, and when your Dartrix evolves he'll gain the Ghost typing. I've already mentioned where to get the Grass, Flying, and Ice Z-Crystals, and for the Ghost & Dark ones you'll go to Ula'Ula; lil' Acerola is the Ghost-type captain, while Kahuna Nanu handles Dark-type challenges."

"If we're going to be recruiting Solgaleo & Lunala's help to handle whatever's coming," Kaleido Ruby spoke, "should we try to get the Z-Crystals for their types? According to what I've gathered, Lunala is Psychic/Ghost, and Solgaleo is Psychic/Steel."

"To get the Psychic Z-Crystal," Hala replied, "you have to defeat or otherwise impress the Totem Xatu in the desert on Ula'Ula Island. For Steel, so Molayne; he's usually on Ula'Ula, either at the League atop Mt. Lanakila, or at the observatory on Mt. Hokulani."

"The League?" Miyu asked.

"The Alola Pokémon League!" Kukui answered. "Four of our strongest type-specialist Trainers, set to go all-out and challenge those Trainers who complete their island trials. Molayne, Guzma, Acerola, and Kahili – Hala and Kahuna Olivia used to be part of it, but they gave up their seats to let Mo' & Guzma have a go."

Hala welled with pride. "Guzma was once my fallen student, who gave up on himself and started a gang of thugs & misfits in his efforts to find a place where he could feel he belonged. But he managed to redeem himself _and_ his fellows, and we found out that in his efforts to take care of his people, he and his Bug-type Pokémon became so powerful & skilled that we were able to make them part of Alola's Elite Four. He's still a little abrasive, but he's actually done quite well at the post!"

"We'll probably have to do this super-quick," Kuro said, "just swing by each Trial we need to take, use a dropship or whatever to get to the next place ASAP, spend just enough time for our Pokémon to recover and be combat-ready again, and so on. Between the Ainsworth issue on Miyu's homeworld and whatever the hell these dimensional invaders are, we probably don't have much time to sight-see or get Z-Crystals we don't yet need."

Tapu Koko looked to Kukui, and psychically transmitted an image to the man, who smiled.

"Hey, you're right! Thanks for remindin' me. Miyu, Kuro, I'd like to give ya something." He reached into his labcoat pockets and pulled out two diamond-shaped crystals, one blue and one green. "These are the Z-Crystals for the Z-Moves unique to Primarina and Decidueye – Popplio and Dartrix's final forms. You can't use 'em _yet_ , but once your partners have fully evolved you can put these to good use for their special secret techniques! Oh, and let Fuuka know I've got one waiting for her too, for when her Litten is an Incineroar."

"So, what other Crystals are there?" Illya asked, curiously.

"Well," Hala replied, "you get the Fighting-type Z-Crystal by beating _me_ ; you gotta see Kiawe on Akala Island to get the Fire Crystal; Sophocles on Ula'Ula gives out Electric Crystals; the Dragon Z-Crystal is if you beat the Totem Kommo'o on Poni Island; young Hapu on Poni will give the Ground Crystal to those who impress her; the Poison Z-Crystal is awarded by Plumeria on Ula'Ula; Kahuna Olivia on Akala is in charge of the Rock Crystal…"

"…And the Pokémon besides the three I mentioned which have 'exclusive' Z-Moves and corresponding crystals" Kukui said "are Alolan Raichu, Eevee, Kommo'o, Lycanroc, Mimikyu, Pikachu, and Snorlax. …And, of course, there's always the chance there are others we just haven't discovered yet."

Tapu Koko snickered in the classic 'I know something you don't know' way.

"So," Illya said, "first off, let's let our teams get a bit of rest after taking on that big nasty bodybuilder-bug-thing, and then we'll head for the Normal-type Trial!"

"I'll call the other Kahunas," Hala said, "have them and their Trial Captains keep a lookout for more of those invaders."

"And I'll treat you girls to some barbecue before ya head out!" Kukui said with a grin.

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**

Next Time: Team Illya sets out on their abbreviated Island Trial! Will they earn their Z-Crystals? Will the Ultra Beasts cause more trouble? What's causing them to appear all of a sudden? Find out soon!

Also, before you guys ask: even I, the writer of this fic, don't really know if the Poké-world of _Teana's Travels_ is animé-verse, games-verse, or some weird hybrid of them.


	2. Akala

For reference (for you guys _and_ myself): Illya's Butterfree and Cottonee are male while her Floette is female; Kuro's Dartrix is male and her Sneasel is female; and Miyu's Popplio and Alolan Vulpix are both female.

Oh, and silly me, it turns out Sneasel, despite being a Dark-type with various claw/slicing attacks, can't learn Night Slash, while Popplio can't learn Bubble. …Welp, too late now…

 **SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm PKM-42 – Alola Region – Melemele Island**

The three girls arrived outside a 'small' cave on the north end of Melemele Island – a sign marked it as "Verdant Cavern". Waiting by the entrance was a youth around 14-15 years old, with skin and hair almost identical in color & shade to Kuro, wearing a different-shades brown sweater-vest over a long-sleeved white shirt with matching white pants.

"Greetings!" he held up a hand in greeting. "Captain Ilima here. I take it you three are the ones Hala called me about?"

Miyu nodded. "We wish to take the Normal-type Trial" she stated.

Ilima nodded. "Of course. Follow me, and watch out for the Diglett; they like to make mounds and tracks that are easy to trip over if you don't watch your footing, and if you trip over an actual Diglett it's likely to attack you in retaliation."

They followed the Trial Captain into the cave, hearing the occasional cry of a Yungoos or Rattata from elsewhere in the cave. Finally, they reached a large central chamber.

"Here you will undertake the challenge to prove your worthiness of Z-Crystals. This is the only known Trial location to possess _two_ separate Totem Pokémon – two of you will engage them in battle, while the third shall face _me_."

He clapped, and after a few seconds two large figures leapt down – a Gumshoos and an Alolan Raticate, both Pokémon noticeably larger than what was normal for their species. Illya and Kuro stepped forward – Kuro sent out her Dartrix, staring the Totem Gumshoos down, while Illya and her Butterfree prepared against the Totem Raticate. Miyu, meanwhile, had Popplio get ready as she stood facing Ilima, who sent out his Smeargle.

The Totem Gumshoos charged at Kuro's Dartrix, leaping over a Leafage attack he fired at it, and the owl Pokémon hurriedly took off to avoid the rushing Tackle, missing by inches. The Totem lunged up and caught Dartrix with a Bite, yanking him around a bit and then tossing him away. Dartrix caught himself and released a Razor Leaf barrage, battering the upsized Pokémon. Not too far away, Illya's Butterfree nimbly dodged the Totem Raticate's Hyper Fang, and returned fire with a Gust that briefly disoriented the opponent, and then a flying Tackle that sent it tumbling. The big black beast hissed as it caught itself, and then it let out a cry that was answered as an Alolan Rattata came out of a nearby burrow and blindsided Butterfree with a Tackle, knocking the Bug-type back but not doing serious damage. At the same time, the Totem Gumshoos called forth a Yungoos to assist it. In response, Illya sent out her Cottonee and Kuro her Sneasel.

Meanwhile, Miyu's Popplio cartwheeled out of the way of a Leafage blast fired at her by Ilima's Smeargle, returning fire with a Bubble barrage. Fighting through the pain, Smeargle prepared to cast a Shock Wave, but Popplio then rammed into the dog-Pokémon with a sudden Aqua Jet, cutting off his attack preparation and knocking him back. Smeargle shook the water out of his fur and lashed out with a Mach Punch, but Popplio rolled with the blow and then blasted him with a Disarming Voice, the sonic wave imbued with Fairy-type energy knocking him back. He then managed to hit Popplio with a 'traced' Psybeam, that hit with enough force to knock Popplio end over end, leaving the seal Pokémon tumbling back and shaking her head to clear away the brief dizziness.

Sneasel threw a few Ice Shard kunai at Totem Gumshoos, who dodged most of them and then caught the last between its big pointy teeth, shattering the frozen projectile with a crunch, but her follow-up Metal Claw hit home, knocking the massive mustelid back. Growling, the Totem Pokémon pulled out an Oran Berry, but before it could eat the healing fruit Dartrix swooped in with a Pluck attack, hitting the Gumshoos and stealing the Oran Berry to heal himself with instead. Sneasel then hit the Yungoos sidekick with a Fury Swipes barrage and then a full-power Slash, putting the little varmint down for the count.

Cottonee hit the Totem Raticate with a Mega Drain, sapping some of the giant rat's strength and restoring a little of his own. He slid out of the way of the Alolan Rattata's attempt to Bite him from the side, and then blasted the smaller rat with a point-blank Fairy Wind. This left the Totem's helper barely on its feet, and a Gust from Butterfree finished it off. Butterfree then unleashed a Silver Wind on the Totem Raticate, battering it with Bug-type energy and getting a slight boost to his stats in the process. The giant Alolan Raticate snarled and charged at its opponents, apparently madder than ever.

Popplio powered through the Leafage shot Smeargle hit her with, and nailed the painter-dog in the face with a Water Gun; that last hit had brought her stamina down low enough to activate her Torrent power, giving a boost to her attack's force. Smeargle quickly wiped the water out of his eyes, lashing out with a Mach Punch that Popplio twisted around; the seal then blasted her foe with a Disarming Voice shot, and then leapt up. When she was right over him, she struck with a downward Pound that hammered him face-first into the ground. After a few seconds, he didn't get back up, and a quick check confirmed her opponent had been KO'ed. Popplio stopped to catch her breath, turning to watch her comrades' fights.

A Leafage shot with Razor Leaves around it hit the Totem Gumshoos square in the chest, leaving it wincing and struggling to stand. Sneasel then crossed her claws as she cast Beat Up, forming a Shadow Clone of herself and one of Dartrix; they and the real Dartrix joined her in attacking the Totem from all sides, chipping away at it some more. The weary opponent Thrashed, destroying the Beat-Up Clones, but was wide-open for a Fury Attack, a barrage of pecking strikes from Dartrix that finally exhausted the Totem's durability. With a weak grumble, it toppled over, out cold.

Butterfree's flying Tackle knocked the Totem Raticate into a Fairy Wind blast from Cottonee. The big black rat growled and struggled to its feet, obviously worse for wear. It charged at them, but Butterfree blew out a Whirlwind, the spiraling air hoisting the Totem into the air, buffeting it around. Cottonee fed Razor Leaves into it, letting them slice into their foe from all directions. Finally, the Whirlwind dissipated, and the Totem Raticate dropped to the ground with a thud, swirly-eyed and down for the count.

"And that's it" Ilima announced. "Well done, you three; you have all triumphed over Captain Ilima's Trial! You have more than earned your prize: the Normalium-Z Crystal!"

He pulled out a trio of matching gray crystals, and handed them to the girls. The trio happily admired their hard-earned new gems, Illya holding hers up to sparkle in a stream of light shining down through a hole in the cavern roof.

"With these Z-Crystals," Ilima continued, "your Pokémon will be able to perform the Normal-type Z-Move, the Breakneck Blitz. Allow me to show you the pose you must take to activate the crystals' power…"

He demonstrated the arm movements that went with the Normalium-Z, and the girls copied it, all three of them blushing slightly at how silly it looked & felt. Still, with this they had taken their first steps towards gaining the power they'd need to fend off whatever was coming to disturb Alola.

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

After taking an hour or so to get their Pokémon rested up at the nearest Poké-Center, the Prisma Trio made their way towards Ten-Carat Hill, where – according to Professor Kukui – the Flying-type specialist Kahili was currently training. Making their way through the cave, they were mostly unbothered; a Roggenrola that was in their way and stubbornly refused to move changed its tune pretty quickly after being hit by a couple of Water Gun shots from Popplio, while a Mawile they met along the way let them pass without a fight in exchange for half a candy bar.

Now, as they entered the grassy clearing, they looked around. If Kahili was around her somewhere, then where exactly might she-

" _Fore!-!_ "

Looking up, Illya let out an "Eeep!" as she leapt to the side, narrowly avoided getting beaned in the forehead by a wayward golf ball. The trio looked around, and soon saw the culprit jogging toward them – a young woman with pale silvery-blue hair that swept out to the sides behind her back like wings, wearing a blue & white top and skirt, knee-high orange stockings, and carrying a golf club.

"Sorry!" she said as she came up to the girls. "I come here to practice 'cause other people hardly ever come by. What brings you girls here?"

"U-Um… We're looking for Kahili," Illya answered, "so that we can earn Flying-type Z-Crystals."

The woman smiled. " _I'm_ Kahili - Flying-type Pokémon specialist, member of the Alola Elite Four, and professional golfer. So, you three want some of my Z-Crystals?"

"J-Just these two" Miyu replied. "I don't have any Flying-type Pokémon…"

Illya sent out her Butterfree, and Kuro sent out her Dartrix. Looking them over, Kahili nodded, and then pulled out her own Poké-Balls.

"So, we're gonna have our battle here?" Kuro asked.

"Oh, we're not going to battle" Kahili replied, sending out her full team – a Braviary, a Hawlucha, an Oricorio, a Mandibuzz, and a Toucannon. "Okay, you guys, two of these girls have come for their Z-Crystals, so you know what that means. Get the aerial obstacle course ready!"

The girls watched with interested curiosity as Kahili and her Pokémon quickly set up an elaborate obstacle course of poles, nets, hoops (at least one of which was on fire), and other such things, with the sort of practiced ease that showed they'd done this plenty of times. It was soon ready, and Illya & Kuro looked a little nervous as they beheld the complexity of it.

"Okay then," Kahili said, "you girls' flying Pokémon have to make it through the obstacle course. If they fail, that doesn't mean they lose their chance, they just have to start over. _But_ , every time the run is restarted, parts of the course will be changed around, so they can't solve the course by just memorizing everything, they have to be able to adapt on the fly, if you'll pardon the pun. When your Pokémon makes it through the course, you get your Flyinium-Z Crystal. Now, who's first?"

Illya's Butterfree ended up going first. He made it about two-thirds of the way through the course before a sudden breeze nudged him just a bit too far to the left, and the edge of his wing clipped a hoop he was passing through. Dartrix's first try was next, the grass-owl getting to the part where he had to rapidly weave around a row of poles, getting his movement into a rhythm and promptly falling for a 'trap', a pole spaced differently from the others, and smacking face-first into it.

Over the next hour, the two Flying-types made multiple attempts. Finally, Butterfree managed to pull off a flawless run on his sixth try, and shortly after Dartrix made it through on his seventh. Satisfied, Kahili granted Illya & Kuro a pair of Flyinium-Z Crystals and showed them the activation pose.

"You girls need a lift to Akala Island?" she asked the trio. "I have a couple of Pidgeot who can get you there faster than you can say 'jet stream'."

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Akala Island – Brooklet Hill**

With Illya, Kuro, and Trial Captain Lana – a blue-haired girl only a couple years older than the girls – watching from the shoreline, Miyu cautiously walked to the end of the little pier. The clouds overhead had thickened and darkened, adding to an unsettling atmosphere that made her feel like she was being hunted. She looked down at the water, seeing lots of little shadows of fish flitting about beneath the surface.

Then, the shadows suddenly sprang into motion and began darting toward a single point, coalescing into a large seething shadow that grew bigger and bigger and bigger… Finally, the object breached the surface, and Miyu stepped back in fear. Dozens, if not hundreds, of little Wishiwashi had converged into an _enormous_ gestalt construct, a vaguely submarine-like giant fish-creature with rows of Wishiwashi 'teeth', countless tiny glowing eyespots along its deep-blue hide, and a crushing presence that made Miyu feel like a sardine before a great-white shark. Shaking off her fear, she sent out her Pokémon; her Popplio dove into the water, while her Alolan Vulpix flash-froze the water immediately below her paws on contact, creating a little ice platform.

The Totem Wishiwashi lunged at Popplio with a Take Down attack, but the little seal swam out of the way and blasted the giant fish-monster in the 'face' with Disarming Voice, briefly stunning it but not doing too much damage yet. A-Vulpix exhaled an Icy Wind at the gestalt entity, frosting it up a little, and then leapt away from her frozen 'perch' to dodge a Water Gun shot, creating another ice platform upon 'landing' a couple meters away. The huge Totem Pokémon dove underwater, and after several seconds Popplio was sent hurtling up out of the water by the enemy's rising underwater tackle. The Wishiwashi went for a midair Aqua Tail against its briefly defenseless opponent, but at Miyu's command an Ice Shard to the 'eye' from A-Vulpix knocked it off-balance and disoriented it, letting Popplio recover and drop back down into the water safely.

As the Totem Wishiwashi surfaced again, Miyu had both her Pokémon hit it with Icy Wind, slowing it down a little more. It fired a Brine blast at them, but A-Vulpix dodged, and Popplio took only a glancing blow, the Water-type attack not doing much to the Water-type Pokémon. Of course, the Aqua Jet that Popplio then slammed into it with didn't do much damage, either. The Totem Wishiwashi then vanished under the water for a few seconds and managed to then hit A-Vulpix with a Feint Attack, but Miyu commanded the ice-fox to use her newest move, and since it came right after taking a hit the Payback attack was extra-strong, actually making some of the gestalt Wishiwashi's component fishes briefly lose cohesion before pulling themselves back together, minus a couple of little Wishiwashi that had been knocked out by the attack, left drifting away on the water surface.

The Totem Wishiwashi swung an Aqua Tail at A-Vulpix, but Popplio dove in and took the hit instead, being knocked senseless. Then, while she was still stunned, the giant gestalt-fish swam in and engulfed her in its massive 'mouth', seemingly swallowing her whole! As Miyu tried to hold back sudden panic at her partner Pokémon getting _eaten_ , however, there was a sudden flare of bright white light from inside the Totem Pokémon's mouth, and then a glowing & growing mass busted its way out, knocking a few 'teeth' out on its way. Soon, the mass of light solidified and faded to reveal the seal Pokémon now looking bigger, fancier, frillier, and with a lighter shade of blue, long fluttery eyelashes above her eyes, her neck-frill now lower on her body and looking like a fluffy white skirt. The newly-evolved Brionne shouted out a Disarming Voice attack, and it had more of a kick to it than before, hitting the Totem Wishiwashi in the 'face' and knocking a couple more component-Wishiwashi out.

Miyu had A-Vulpix toss out a few waves of Ice Shards, and those that missed the Totem Pokémon were picked up by Brionne and tail-smacked back at the big target, doing a little more damage. They both dodged a Take Down, and then A-Vulpix's eyes flashed with ghostly light as she cast Confuse Ray; several of the component Wishiwashi were afflicted, the gestalt's form beginning to destabilize a little. Then, the melodic sonic waves of Brionne's Sing rang out, missing some of the giant Wishiwashi's components but effecting others. Now, some of the huge gestalt's component fishes were confused, some were asleep, and between those effects and the damage it had taken so far, overall its form was visibly struggling to hold together.

An Icy Wind from A-Vulpix and a Disarming Voice from Brionne smacked into the Totem Wishiwashi from different angles, knocking some of the sleeping components away and sending the confused ones into a panicked frenzy, some of them starting to attack each other. Miyu's Pokémon sent out a few more attack volleys, and finally they pushed things over the edge. The massive gestalt Pokémon abruptly disintegrated, scores of little Wishiwashi randomly scattering every which way. A last little one was left behind, quivering in fear as it looked at the two Pokémon facing it, and then it turned and swam away as fast as it could.

"Well done, Miyu" Lana said as the young girl and her two Pokémon came back to the shore. "You defeated the Totem Pokémon of Brooklet Hill, _and_ evolved one of your own Pokémon in the process. You've earned the Waterium-Z Crystal."

She handed the small blue diamond-shaped crystal to Miyu, who bowed in thanks. The young fisher showed Miyu the pose needed to activate the Z-Crystal's power, and then handed her what looked like a glittering CD or disc of some sort.

"This is a Technical Machine, or TM" Lana explained. "It can be used to teach the move 'Scald' to certain Pokémon; it's a fairly powerful Water-type move that blasts the target with hot water – it can inflict enemies with a Burn to reduce their offensive power, and it's also great for cooking, cleaning, and melting through snow & ice! Try teaching it to your Brionne to give her another card to play in future battles."

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Akala Island – Lush Jungle**

"Hey there!" a girl in her mid-teens, green hair tied in two rear-hanging pigtails with a vine-like headband and attached pink flower hairpin, wearing pale-blue denim overalls over a red top, waved to the trio as they arrived. "I'm Mallow, the Grass-type Trial Captain. So, I was told that two out of you three have come to take on the Grass Trial?"

Illya and Kuro stepped forward. "We have" Illya said.

Mallow nodded. "Alright, then. One of you will face the Totem Pokémon, and the other will battle _me_. How many Pokémon are you bringing to the table?"

"Two" "Three"

"Mmkay. You" she pointed to Kuro "will fight the Totem Pokémon; beat her, and you get the Grass Z-Crystal. You, meanwhile," she pointed to Illya, "will take me on in a three-on-three battle, with each Pokémon fighting only once. If you manage to beat two out of my three, you get a Z-Crystal."

Mallow led Illya over to one side of the forest clearing, while Kuro stood by the other. Soon, the underbrush near Kuro rustled, and her eyes widened as an extra-large Pokémon stepped out – looking like a plant-themed praying mantis clad in garish pink colors. Steeling herself, she sent out her Sneasel and Dartrix, her two Pokémon warily eyeing the Totem Lurantis, waiting for it to make the first move. Meanwhile, Illya sent out her Cottonee, and Mallow in turn set out her Phantump.

The Totem Lurantis lunged forward, swinging one of its big claw-arms with a Slash attack that Sneasel bent over backwards to avoid. The little Ice-type countered with her own Slash, and Dartrix flew in with a Peck strike. The big Lurantis hissed as it took hits, and then slicing petals swirled around it, the Petal Blizzard battering Kuro's Pokémon and tossing them away. The mantis Pokémon then rushed forward and hit Dartrix with an X-Scissor before he could recover, but an Ice Shard from Sneasel hit it in the side and forced it to back off before it could hit Dartrix again.

Illya's Cottonee rolled out of the way of a Tackle from Mallow's Phantump, and blasted the little wood-ghost with Fairy Wind, knocking it back a little. He followed up with a few Razor Leaves, but the Phantump powered through the hits and abruptly made a scary face imbued with Ghost-type energy as it smacked into Cottonee, the Astonish attack making the little puffball fairy flinch. At Illya's command, Cottonee leeched some of Phantump's energy with an Absorb, getting back a little of his stamina. Then, however, Mallow had Phantump cast Curse, and Cottonee felt like a weight latched onto his spirit.

Kuro's Dartrix dove to avoid a Leaf Blade, and flapped his wings shrouded in ghostly energy to batter the Totem Lurantis with Ominous Wind, giving himself a slight boost in the process. Sneasel rushed in with a barrage of Fury Swipes, landing a few hits, but then a Low Sweep from Lurantis knocked her over, and she rolled to avoid a follow-up downward X-Scissor that carved a gouge into the grassy earth where she'd just been. The Totem Pokémon swung again, and Sneasel's claws glowed silver with Steel-type energy as she used Metal Claws to catch the enemy's claw, straining as she tried to shove back against the force pushing down at her. A tackling Pluck strike from Dartrix hit the Totem Lurantis in the side, knocking it away and giving Sneasel a moment to catch her breath.

Both Cottonee and Phantump were obviously worse for wear, still hitting each other with different attacks as their Trainers commanded. Unfortunately, the Absorbs and Mega Drains Cottonee was hitting his opponent with weren't quite fully making up for the stamina he was losing to Phantump's Curse, and even though he was part Fairy-type the occasional Feint Attacks he was hit with were making it worse, chipping away at him even more. He buffeted Phantump with Fairy Wind, but the tree-ghost withstood the blow and hit him with a Tackle. Then, the Curse struck again, and Cottonee dropped to the ground, finally out cold. Illya frowned as she recalled her starter, while Phantump – battered, tired, and barely upright – was called back by Mallow.

"One down on your end" the Grass Captain said. "If I KO another of your Pokémon, it's over. Now then, Round 2!"

She sent out a little purplish mushroom-thing – a Morelull. In response, Illya sent out her Butterfree. Butterfree made the first move, firing a Psybeam that knocked the little Morelull off its 'feet'. Getting back up, Morelull threw itself at the butterfly with a bit of ghostly energy in an Astonishing tackle; Butterfree was hit, but managed to flutter his wings and regain control before hitting the ground, and then at Illya's call, shimmering silver sparkles buffeted the little mushroom as he returned fire with Silver Wind.

The Totem Lurantis began absorbing sunlight, charging the energy into its forearm-blades which began to glow, the light slowly brightening. Dartrix and Sneasel bombarded the Totem with Razor Leaves and Ice Shards, but though they were hurting it, they couldn't stop the charging sequence. It charged at them, and one of its claws suddenly erupted in solar energy, extending from it in the form of a massive blade nearly six feet long. The Solar Blade swung down, and Sneasel quickly shoved Dartrix away. The earth shook as the little Dark/Ice-type was hammered by the full force of the blow, being knocked out.

As the Totem Lurantis panted softly, it was then hit by a flying Tackle from Dartrix. It swung at the bird with a Slash, but missed as the owl fluttered backward. Then, Kuro held up the Z-Power Ring around her wrist, a sky-blue crystal set into it. She held her arms forward, and then spread them out & up, moving as if flapping wings, and then crouched and sprang back up with raised fist. The sky-blue crystal flashed, and Dartrix' body glowed with a Z-Power Aura. Dartrix then shot up into the sky at great speed, well above the tree-tops, and then after a couple of seconds he came shooting down wreathed in energy like a comet. The Totem Lurantis' eyes widened just before Dartrix's Supersonic Skystrike slammed into it with enough force to shake the earth and nearly fell a few of the nearby trees. As the glow from Kuro's Z-Ring faded, Dartrix fluttered out unsteadily, while amidst the dust the Totem Lurantis keeled over, down for the count.

Illya acted quick when Mallow's Morelull launched a cloud of Sleep Powder at her Butterfree, having him use Safeguard to wreathe himself in protective energy just before the spores reached him. Butterfree then released a Supersonic, the disorienting waves making Mallow's Morelull sway and stagger. Morelull tried to use a Mega Drain, but the gathering energy backfired, harming it. Butterfree then let loose his strongest attack, an Air Slash strike leaving Morelull barely still up. He followed up with a Psybeam, and that put Morelull out cold.

"Not bad" Mallow said. "That's 1 to 1. Whoever wins this next one wins it all. Send out your last Pokémon, kiddo."

Illya sent out Floette, while Mallow sent out a bipedal Pokémon that somewhat resembled a young girl – 'pigtails' made of a hard green seed-shell split open, dull-purple chest in a way that looked like a dress, with long thin white arms, a wider white portion split into a few parts to look like a poofy skirt, and dainty dull-purple legs. Mallow's Steenee took a little curtsy, preparing to battle.

Illya and Mallow ordered Razor Leaf at the same time, and their Pokémon obliged, two waves of slicing leaves meeting in the middle. Some of the leaves hit each other and canceled out, while the rest moved on to hit both fighters, doing a little damage to both. Steenee moved in with a Double Slap, and Floette deftly moved her flower to block the Grass-type's hits, and then used it as a club to whack Steenee in the side of the head. Shaking off the stun, Steenee struck with a kick, forcing Floette back.

Illya had Floette cast Lucky Chant just in case, and then the little fairy lashed out with a Vine Whip. Steenee rapidly pirouetted, using Rapid Spin to deflect the striking vine and to give her ensuing Razor Leaves some extra velocity. Floette used her big pink flower as a shield, blocking some of the hits, and fired a Fairy Wind in return, damaging Steenee and making her cancel her spin. Mallow had Steenee leap high and come down at Floette with a Stomp, doing some damage but not enough to keep Floette down for long, the little sprite straightening herself out and hitting Steenee with another Vine Whip.

Steenee and Floette both began firing Magical Leaves at each other. The multicolored guided projectiles crashed into each other halfway between the two Pokémon, creating a dazzling display of sparks and shattering leaf-bolts that lasted for several seconds, neither attack managing to break through to hit the opponent. As Steenee approached while Rapid-Spinning, Floette put her tiny hands together as if in prayer, then threw her hands upward to release a little spark of light that seemed to do nothing. Steenee used her spin to give her ensuing roundhouse kick some extra force, knocking Floette back, and as she charged in with a Double-Slap she pushed through the Fairy Wind Floette fired at her, taking damage but still breaking through to hit.

Floette didn't look like she was in very good shape. But then, the Wish she'd casted a few moments ago went off, restoring much of her stamina and health. Reinvigorated, she tossed out Razor Leaves and, at Illya's suggestion, boosted them with Fairy Wind. The compound attack battered Steenee, making her stumble back and shield her face. Floette charged in, reinforcing her big pink flower with Fairy-type energy and using it as a mace to whack Steenee around a few times. Steenee tried to counterattack with a Double-Slap, but Floette danced around her hits and then grabbed the Grass-type with two Vine Whips. With a heave, Floette's whips hoisted Steenee into the air, flipped her up and over, and slammed her head-first back down into the ground. After a second, Steenee toppled over, clearly out of the fight. Floette turned to Illya with a tired smile.

"Well, I'll be" Mallow recalled her Steenee. "You actually managed to turn it around. Good job, kid! You've earned the Grassium-Z Crystal. And so have you" she looked to Kuro. "That Flying Z-Attack packed a real wallop!"

She pulled out a pair of green diamond-shaped crystals, handing them to Illya and Kuro. After showing them the Grass-type Z-Move's poses, she began to lead the girls out of the forest. Suddenly, however, the air shuddered, and the four girls felt a powerful uneasy feeling.

Then, with a whirling, ripping sound, an Ultra Wormhole tore its way into existence overhead. The Trial Captain and the 'Prism Trio' watched as a small creature emerged – silvery-white with bits of yellow and orange, looking almost like a living origami sculpture a few feet tall. But despite its miniscule size, the power it was giving off was worryingly high.

"Oh, hell…" Kuro breathed out. "My and Illya's teams aren't in any shape to take on an Ultra Beast right now!"

"And I left my big guns back at the Poké-Center" Mallow said. "And even if I hadn't, I don't know about the wisdom of sending Trevenant or Tsareena against _this_ thing, whatever the hell it is; for all I know, it might carve through them like a demented lawnmower."

Illya and Kuro summoned their Keyblades, while Miyu readied Kaleido Sapphire and sent out her Brionne and Alolan Vulpix. Miyu had a feeling this might be tough…

But then, a ball of pink light flew in from above, taking position between the humans and the invader. The light faded to reveal a black & pink sprite-like being, her upper body poking out from a half-egg like shell with different shades of pink on it, her curly pink hair hanging out from under a conical pink 'hat'. She flared her presence, and the Kartana backed up a little, suddenly looking nervous.

"The guardian spirit of Akala Island…" Mallow whispered, in mild awe. "Tapu Lele…"

Miyu's Pokémon took up position on either side of Tapu Lele, ready to support her, and the Prism Trio joined in as well. Faced with so much opposition so suddenly, the Kartana looked around, considered its chances, and then turned and fled back through the Ultra Wormhole.

"…Huh" Kuro was a bit bemused. "Guess it didn't have the guts its big red friend had…"

Tapu Lele turned to face the humans. She looked the three girls over, and then nodded in approval. She snapped her fingers, and Illya & Kuro's Poké-Balls were briefly enveloped in a pink glow as their Pokémon were healed and 'recharged'. Then, with a flash of purplish-pink, she vanished.

"…Okay, then" Mallow said, trying to sound like what had just happened was no big deal, though there was a bit of a forced quality to her 'casual' tone and mannerisms. "I think you girls should get going for Ula'Ula Island next, huh?"

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**

Next time: as the Prism Trio make their way through Ula'Ula Island's trials, they meet a few strange travelers who might have vital information for them… Also, here's the current movesets of the group's Pokémon:

[Illya's Cottonee: Absorb, Fairy Wind, Leech Seed, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Cotton Spore, Razor Leaf, Poison Powder, Charm]

[Illya's Butterfree: Gust, Confusion, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Silver Wind, Supersonic, Safeguard, Whirlwind, Air Slash]

[Illya's Floette: Tackle, Vine Whip, Fairy Wind, Lucky Chant, Razor Leaf, Wish, Magical Leaf, Grassy Terrain]

[Kuro's Dartrix: Tackle, Leafage, Peck, Astonish, Razor Leaf, Ominous Wind, Foresight, Pluck]

[Kuro's Sneasel: Scratch, Taunt, Leer, Quick Attack, Feint Attack, Icy Wind, Fury Swipes, Metal Claw, Beat Up, Slash, Ice Shard]

[Miyu's Brionne: Pound, Water Gun, Disarming Voice, Aqua Jet, Icy Wind, Bubble Beam, Sing, Double Slap, Scald]

[Miyu's A-Vulpix: Powder Snow, Ice Shard, Confuse Ray, Icy Wind, Payback, Mist]


	3. Ula'Ula

Since I often forget to have Trainers call out orders to their Pokémon, just assume that it's being done unless specifically stated otherwise.

 **SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm PKM-42 – Alola Region – Ula'Ula Island – Malie City**

As the Prism Trio entered the spacious garden at the heart of Ula'Ula Island's capital city, they kept an eye out for the man Hala had described to them. Crossing a small bridge and reaching the central area, they saw someone who fit the description: a tall and well-built man wearing black trousers, a white shirt under an open white-striped black jacket, spiky white hair, and a pair of yellow-rimmed sunglasses. He had a rough, slightly intimidating air about him, and he looked up as Illya approached.

"Mm? Whatcha want, kid?" he asked.

"Um… Are you Guzma?" Illya asked. "If you are, I was told to come to you to earn the Bug-type Z-Crystal…"

After a second, Guzma's eyes widened in recognition. "Ah, you're the kids Hala called me about. 'Kay, then…" He stood up, stretching a kink out of his back. "Ya got one Bug-type, right? Send 'im out, and I'll send out one of mine. If you manage to impress me, you get a Z-Crystal."

Illya sent out her Butterfree, and Guzma underhand-tossed a Net Ball, which released a ball of light that materialized into a Masquerain, the Bug-type's eyespots out on display as its wings fluttered. Masquerain struck first, releasing an Air Cutter wind-wave at Butterfree, who dodged and returned fire with a couple of Air Slash waves. Masquerain got hit by one but dodged the other, and then it blitzed forward in a Quick Attack that knocked Butterfree back through the air.

Illya had Butterfree use Silver Wind, and Guzma had his Masquerain do the same. The two Silver Winds met in the middle, turbulent air whirling as the attacks shoved against each other. Masquerain's eventually broke through, but it had used up so much force blowing through Butterfree's attack that it did barely any damage. Butterfree hit Masquerain with a Gust, but the other Bug-type rolled with the hit and soon regained control of its flight.

The buzzing of Masquerain 's wings suddenly became louder and sharper, becoming focused sonic waves of punishing force. The blast of Bug Buzz battered Butterfree, but he recovered and fired a Psybeam that hit dead-on, knocking Masquerain back. Both Pokémon blew Gusts at each other, the attacks mixing together to form a sizable whirlwind that tossed both of them around for a bit.

Masquerain dodged another Silver Wind from Butterfree, tossing an Air Slash wave at Illya's Pokémon that knocked the butterfly end over end. At Illya's call he pulled himself together, and managed to avoid the Bug Buzz that Masquerain blasted at him. Then, concentrating on what he'd observed, Butterfree finally pulled off his own Bug Buzz attack, the sonic waves impacting Masquerain hard, stunning it. Masquerain managed to pull up just before hitting the ground, sizing up its opponent and waiting.

Illya had Butterfree use Supersonic, but Guzma had Masquerain use a focused 'burst' of Bug Buzz to disrupt the incoming sonic waves, nullifying the technique. Masquerain then slid out of the way of a few Air Cutter wind-waves, getting nicked by the edge of one. Butterfree sent another Gust in, but this one had Poison Powder mixed in with it, successfully afflicting Guzma's Pokémon. As Masquerain started losing energy, Guzma commanded it to Quiver Dance, and the blue Bug-type shook and twirled in the air, a faint glow of energy enveloping it briefly as its capabilities got a boost.

Masquerain blitzed in with a Quick Attack, moving faster and hitting Butterfree harder than before. It was then blasted back by Butterfree's Silver Wind before it could follow through with another blow, but tossed out an Air Slash wave that hit the butterfly hard. Visibly wobbling in the air, Butterfree released another Bug Buzz, the shockwave imbued with Bug-type energy knocking Masquerain end over end. Guzma had Masquerain use Quick Attack upwards to rapidly gain altitude, and then it bombarded Butterfree with Air Cutters from above. Butterfree took the hits hard, and although he managed to fire off a Psybeam that hit Masquerain, doing respectable damage, it wasn't enough to prevent Guzma's Pokémon from dealing enough damage that he soon dropped out of the air, out of stamina.

Illya sighed and grumbled, recalling her knocked-out Pokémon, and then without a word she turned and started to sulk away; she would have to find some other way to boost her Butterfree's combat power…

"Hey, where ya goin', kid?" Guzma stopped her. "Hey, lookie here. …I said you had to _impress_ me to earn the Z-Crystal; I never said ya had to _beat_ me. I'm an Elite-Four member, that Masquerain is part of my E4 team, and yet your Butterfree managed to give him one helluva fight. Look at him; he's barely still in the air!" He pointed out how his Pokémon's flight was visibly unsteady, the Masquerain looking quite battered & tired thanks to the hits it had taken and the poisoning. "And your Butterfree even managed to nail down a brand-new attack mid-battle, though I think watchin' my Pokémon use it a couple of times helped… Anyway, for a rookie taking on someone on my level, you did pretty damn well. You're gonna go places, kid. I think you've earned the Buginium-Z."

He pulled out a small yellowish-green diamond-shaped crystal, and tossed it to the still-surprised Illya.

"I don't really feel like doing the Z-Pose in the middle of a public park" he said. "Look it up online or somethin'. Anyway, good luck."

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Mt. Hokulani Observatory**

As they entered the lobby of the observatory, the Prism Trio were waved over by a tall and skinny man with dull-blonde hair and blue-rimmed glasses, wearing a deep-blue jacket over a pale-blue skirt, and greenish-brown pants.

"You're… Molayne, right?" Miyu asked.

The man nodded. "I'm Molayne, member of the Alola Elite Four. Kukui called ahead and told me what was going on. You girls want a Steelium-Z Crystal so you can use it to help Solgaleo if you end up enlisting his help to deal with these invaders that've been popping up, right?"

"That's right" Illya replied. "So, what do we need to do?"

"Mmm… Actually, I was thinking of giving you girls a break and letting you have this one free of charge. I know you'll still have to fight to earn the Ice, Ghost, Dark and _maybe_ the Psychic Crystals, so let's make it one less battle you'll need to win. Here"

He pulled out a small silver diamond-shaped crystal – a Steelium-Z. Since Kuro was the only one of the trio who currently had a Pokémon with a Steel-type attack (Sneasel's Metal Claw), she took it for now. Molayne then showed them the Steel-type Z-Move's poses. 

"You're heading for the Ice Trial next, right?" he asked. "It's on Mt. Lanakila. Be careful; not only is the Totem Pokémon pretty strong, but you'll want to bring some extra layers of clothing to handle the cold in its lair."

"Thank you, Mr. Molayne" Illya bowed. "I guess we'll be on our way now?"

"Wanna check out the observatory a bit first? I'll let you look through the big telescope…"

 **-X-**

 **Akala Island – Mt. Lanakila**

Illya, Miyu, and Kuro entered the cave that was about halfway up Alola's tallest mountain. With every step they took, the air got colder and colder, and soon the trio activated their magic transformations to utilize the protection from cold they provided (yes, even Kuro's scandalously skimpy combat outfit had the same 'protection from the elements' properties as Illya & Miyu's pseudo-Barrier Jackets). Soon, they reached a portion of the cave that was wide and with a high ceiling, and lots of ice formations all over.

From a hole in the back of a cave, an extra-large Pokémon emerged – a big ball of white ice with black pits/markings, two huge black conical horns, and a face with angry-looking eyes and prominently-displayed chomping teeth. The Totem Glalie focused its gaze on Miyu and Kuro as they stepped forward, the former sending out her Alolan Vulpix and the latter her Sneasel. Looking them over, the upsized Glalie nodded, and then a thin aura of 'Totem power' glowed around it as it prepared to fight.

The Totem Glalie made the first move, launching a wave of Ice Shards at A-Vulpix and Sneasel. The duo scattered to dodge, and then Sneasel exhaled a blast of Icy Wind while A-Vulpix fired her own Ice Shards. Glalie closed its eyes and powered through the hits, flying at A-Vulpix forehead-first, trying to headbutt the ice-fox. Vulpix leapt out of the way, but then got nailed by a blast of Frost Breath that sent her rolling. Sneasel rushed in and hit the Totem with a Metal Claw before it could pursue A-Vulpix, and then leapt back to avoid its attempt to bite her.

Miyu had her A-Vulpix use Confuse Ray as the Totem Glalie charged again, and the big Ice-type's movements became erratic and unstable, leading it to slam face-first into the cavern wall. The big Pokémon shook its head (well, its entire body was basically its head…) to clear away the stun, and blurred with movement as it cast Double Team, forming a half-dozen illusory duplicates of itself and starting to move amongst them, making its opponents lose track. A-Vulpix fired a few Ice Shards at two of them, but both were illusions. Then, Sneasel used Beat Up to form duplicates of herself, A-Vulpix, Dartrix, and Illya's team, and joined them in attacking the array of Glalie. The Floette Beat-Up Clone hit the real Totem Glalie, but the opponent then lunged at Sneasel and caught her in a Crunch before she could react, thrashing her around a bit (and making the Beat-Up Clones dispel since their caster had been hit hard enough).

Letting go of Sneasel, Totem Glalie closed in on A-Vulpix, landing a Headbutt. The ice-fox then used Payback, and the Totem was sent reeling by the extra-strength hit. Sneasel, having recovered, used Metal Claw to smack the big living ice-ball as momentum carried it to her, doing even more damage. She followed up with a Quick Attack, but then the Totem Glalie regained control of its movements and floated up to avoid A-Vulpix's incoming Ice Shards, firing its own down at the little white fox.

Sneasel and A-Vulpix both hit Totem Glalie with Icy Wind, and they actually managed to encase the Totem in ice, though it was visibly breaking free by the second. Then, Miyu's Vulpix felt a new ability welling up inside her, and she focused ghostly energy into a ring of vaguely will-o-wisp like energy balls that then crashed into Glalie from all sides. Hitting a Frozen opponent, the Hex attack did extra damage, shattering the weakened ice and hitting the Totem Glalie within hard. The Totem Pokémon, wavering in the air a little, blasted at them both with a Freeze-Dry attack, but they mostly avoided it, taking only a bit of damage from a glancing blow.

Now, Kuro slotted her Normalium-Z into her Z-Power Ring, and did the odd-looking poses. Sneasel was enveloped in wavering white energy, and then she rushed full-tilt at Totem Glalie, her feet tearing up the icy ground in her wake. Sneasel slammed into the Totem Pokémon with a supercharged tackle – the 'Breakneck Blitz' – that sent it hurtling into the far wall, leaving a Glalie-shaped dent in the rocks. Groaning, the up-sized Pokémon floated unsteadily out, growling at the panting Sneasel, but then A-Vulpix hit it with another Hex attack. The Ice-type dropped to the ground with a thud, no longer able to continue fighting.

After several seconds, the Totem Glalie weakly hopped over to a pedestal half-encased in ice against the far wall. It rummaged around, and then with a spin it launched a pair of pale-blue little diamond-shaped crystals over to Miyu and Kuro – Icium-Z Crystals. It then rolled into its little den carved into the wall, hoping to get some rest and recover in time for the next challenger, whenever they may come.

"Well, that was pretty… neat" Kuro deliberately avoided calling it 'cool', considering the circumstances. "So, where do we go next?"

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Akala Island – Tapu Village**

As the girls entered the little village, heading for the Pokémon Center to check in, they encountered four strange-looking people. They were all clad in odd-looking white & dull-blue armored jumpsuits or something like that, with helmets that came with eye-concealing visors. What could be seen of their skin looked like a pale-blue color, a bit lighter and paler than the shadow-elf Lulu's skin. There was one girl around the trio's age, her reddish-orange hair hanging out from under her helmet in a long braid; a man that had a lock of magenta hair hanging between his eyes; a woman with slightly curly purple hair and what looked like a bit of grayish-blue lipstick; and an older man with a curly purple mustache and matching goatee.

"Um… Hello?" Illya felt a little weirded out at how the quartet was just… staring at them.

"Hm? Oh, apologies!" the younger man said. "We weren't staring at you; we were reading over a report projected on the insides of our visors. …Oh. What the scanners are picking up from you girls…"

"You three…" the older man spoke. "The energies you wield, and the energies contained in those crystals you carry… The former we haven't seen before, though they're certainly potent, but the crystals' power… It is different, yet somehow seems familiar…"

"Have you children had any encounters with unknown creatures emerging through wormholes?" the woman asked.

The girls nodded. "One of them attacked us" Kuro replied. "Tapu Koko helped us defeat and chase it away. Another, a different one, turned and fled when Tapu Lele came to help us and it didn't like the odds stacked against it."

"Do you know something about those creatures?" Miyu asked the strangers.

"We sure do" the little girl replied. "We come from the same place they do. They're basically our world's equivalent to what this world calls 'Pokémon'."

The Prism Trio were shocked; the invaders were extra-dimensional _Pokémon_? And these four strangers were realm-hoppers?

"W… Why are they coming through to this world and causing trouble?" Illya asked.

"Some come seeking challenges in this world," the older man said, "worthy opponents to test their strength. Others are confused and disoriented, and lashing out at what they perceive as threats. As for how they're getting here, though…" He sighed.

"Long ago," the woman began, "our world was overseen by a powerful but benevolent creature of Light. It shared its light with others, bringing prosperity and security to all."

"But, centuries ago," the older man continued, "our ancestors became greedy. They coveted more of the Light than what the Bright One was giving. And so, they captured it, _tortured_ it, _hurt_ it. The being was grievously damaged, its Light leaking away."

"That injury, and the betrayal that caused it," the younger man picked up, "left the being angry, confused, and in terrible pain. The pain, and the feelings of emptiness and loss and hunger that losing its Light caused it, soon drove it mad. Now, it is a shell of its former self, though even as a shell it is still terrifyingly powerful. Now, we call it 'Necrozma'."

"Necrozma once tried to invade this world," the girl said, "to steal its Light. But, the defenders, this world's 'Legendary Pokémon', fought it off. Now, though, it's getting ready to try again. Driven mad by pain and hunger, Necrozma is trying to break through the boundaries between worlds again; because of its wounds, any Light it devours will leech away, but the hunger and the overwhelming desire to feel 'whole' again will still drive it to attempt to devour the Light of this world."

"The chaotic energies Necrozma is giving off are responsible for the Ultra Wormholes coming into being," the old man said, "allowing our world's Ultra Beasts to pass through. They're just a prelude for what's coming."

The girls were stunned. An ancient Legendary Pokémon from another world, driven violently mad by rage and pain and hunger, seeking to devour this world's Light in a doomed attempt to heal and fill itself…"

"Necrozma must be what Solgaleo, Lunala, and the four Tapus fought against in that legend…" Kuro said. "Which means we're gonna need their help again when it returns."

"We'll help fight it off if it shows up" Illya told the travelers. "In addition to having Pokémon, the three of us are combat mages, and Kuro & I have Keyblades." She summoned hers as proof.

"Keyblade-bearers…" the old man breathed out, astonished. "I'd heard that a token few of them survived the Great Keyblade War of centuries past, starting anew the chains of masters & students, but I didn't think I'd ever meet one… The powers you girls wield, alongside this world's avatars of the sun & moon, might be enough to force Necrozma away. …But be warned: the Light you girls carry will draw Necrozma's eye; it may seek to devour that as well as the Light of this world."

"We wish you luck" the younger man said. "We will do what we can as damage control on our end."

The four travelers made their exit, quietly discussing what they had learned and what they might be able to do to help. Illya, Miyu, and Kuro came together as well, wondering just how powerful this 'Necrozma' was going to be, and how they might be able to handle it…

- _Break_ -

Approaching the old abandoned megamart just south of the village, along the area's black-sand beach, the Prism Trio were met by a girl around their age – a mop of purple hair atop her head, a dress of mismatched patchwork blues, purples, & blacks, and a golden bangle around her left upper arm.

"Hiiii~" she waved. "You girls are the ones Kukui called ahead about, right? I'm Acerola, Ghost-type Trial Captain and Alola Elite Four member. So~, which of you has come to take on the _spooooky~_ Ghost-type Trial and earn the Ghostium-Z Crystal?"

Kuro stepped forward. "I have a Dartrix, who I've been told will eventually evolve into a Ghost-type."

Acerola nodded. "Head on in. Once you find the Totem Pokémon, beat her in a fight and you'll earn your Z-Crystal. Good luck in there; you're gonna need iiit~ …"

A little wary at that remark, Kuro entered the old abandoned store. There was hardly any light, a few old lights flickering dimly. Old shopping carts and display tables were strewn about here & there. Torn and faded old advertising posters were on the walls. Feeling a bit nervous in such a creepy place, Kuro sent out her Dartrix, already on guard and looking around.

As Kuro and her Pokémon advanced cautiously into the abandoned building, they were startled as a shopping cart suddenly rolled across the aisle ahead of them, the squeak of its wheels echoing. As it slowly stopped, they warily approached it, and a Haunter abruptly materialized and lunged at them, making them leap back. The Ghost-type chuckled at having scared its targets, but then a barrage of Razor Leaves to the face made it shield its eyes and fly away.

Soon, Kuro caught sight of a brief glimpse of something small and white gliding along the floor, rounding a corner up ahead. She and Dartrix found nothing when they got there, but then the owl Pokémon saw a flash of white heading deeper into the store, leading his Trainer. They found themselves facing the doors to a storage area, doors which appeared to be locked. The two of them turned around…

…and came face to 'face' with a little Mimikyu, the roughly foot-high Pikachu-imitator looking up at them.

"U-Um…" Kuro spoke. "We came to… take the Ghost Trial…"

The little Mimikyu nodded, and then called out while a pair of spindly shadowy arms from under its cloak smacked out a rhythmic pattern into the tile floor – the code for 'Trial-goer' amongst the Poké-inhabitants of this old supermarket, especially a certain one that was waiting nearby. A few seconds later, the Totem emerged – another Mimikyu, about 2 ½ times normal size, a faint aura of 'Totem Power' briefly clinging to it. The normal Mimikyu scampered away, clearing the battlefield, as Kuro & Dartrix got ready to fight.

The Totem Mimikyu dashed forward and swung one of its shadowy claws in a Slash attack, and Dartrix launched himself back to dodge, such that it barely grazed him. He then let out a short, sharp hoot while throwing himself forward with a ghost-imbued tackle, the Astonish attack making the Mimikyu's Pikachu 'head' wobble back & forth as the Totem was knocked back a little.

Dartrix's eyes glowed softly as he cast Foresight, and then he lunged forward and smacked into the Totem with a Tackle. The up-sized Mimikyu shrugged off the hit, and in the dimly-lit building Kuro & Dartrix didn't notice as its shadow darkened and extended out toward the latter until it abruptly surged upward to smack the plant-owl in the chest. With its opponent caught off-guard by the Shadow Sneak attack, the Totem Mimikyu went for a Shadow Claw attack, but Dartrix flew up to avoid it and then battered the ghost with Ominous Wind.

Shaking itself off, the Totem Mimikyu rushed at Dartrix, faking him out and blindsiding him with a Feint Attack. Dartrix rolled with the blow, and flung out a wave of Razor Leaves, impacting the big Mimikyu and cutting a few slashes into its white sheet; through the little tears in the 'fabric', Kuro & Dartrix could see brief glimpses of inky-blackness. The Totem Mimikyu growled at them, and then a faint pink aura of Fairy-type clung to it as it lunged at Dartrix with a Play Rough attack, tossing and bashing Dartrix around for a bit before he managed to get free.

Dartrix hit Totem Mimikyu with another Ominous Wind, and then Plucked at it while dodging its attempt to Shadow Claw him. It hit him with another Feint Attack, but he flew up and bombarded it with Razor Leaves again. Then, Kuro slotted her Grassium-Z into her Z-Power Ring, and made a rising, 'blooming' motion with her hands and body. Bright green energy surrounded Dartrix, who released a pulse of green light that became a field of sparkling flowers all over the floor. Then, the Totem Mimikyu was blasted by a huge green explosion that took the shape of a massive blooming flower.

When the smoke faded, Totem Mimikyu looked to be very much worse for wear, staggering with its disguise sheet in tatters. After a few seconds, one of its shadowy arms reached out from under its sheet and tossed a small purple crystal at Kuro – a Ghostium-Z. As Kuro picked it up, the Totem Mimikyu scampered away, retreating through the storage-room doors.

Making her way out of the abandoned megamart, Kuro was met by her teammates and Acerola.

"We saw the light through the cracks in the building" Acerola said. "Used a Z-Move, didn't ya? Well, it looks like the Totem thinks you're worthy, judging by that little purple crystal you've got there. So, where you girls headed next?"

"We're supposed to get the Psychic Z-Crystal next" Miyu replied.

"In that case, head just east of here to the Haina Desert. There, you'll find the Psychic Trial. Good luck~…"

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Akala Island – Haina Desert**

Mercifully, the skies over the desert were cloudy today, blocking some of the sun's rays, and there wasn't a sandstorm going. Even so, it wasn't exactly easy for the girls to make their way through the sands, though thankfully Kaleido Ruby & Sapphire were able to home in on the unique energy of Z-Crystals to point them in the right direction, leading them straight to the Trial area.

When they arrived, they were met by the sight of an extra-large Xatu, the totem-like Totem Pokémon gazing off into the distance but then slowly turning to face them. Unnerved by its eerie stare, the girls began to reach for their Poké-Balls, but the Totem Xatu held up its wing, telling them to stop.

'I have foreseen the challenges in your future, children' it spoke telepathically to them. 'Among other things, you will be needed in Malie City at a certain point in time later today, and doing battle with me will prevent you from being there on time. Thus, I will be granting you the Psychium-Z Crystal without making you 'prove yourself'. Though, from what I have seen of your battles past and future, you are quite worthy.' 

Its eyes glowed, and a small purplish-pink crystal was levitated out and over to the girls, Miyu taking it for now.

'Go now, young heroines. Alola is counting on you.'

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

 **Malie City**

Making their way to the docks, the Prism Trio encountered an older man wearing a dull-red shirt and an open black jacket with a police-department symbol on the sleeve, matching black pants, red-strapped black sandals, and a gloomy, indifferent expression on his face.

"You the kids Hala told me about, huh?" he looked them over. "You don't look like much. Then again, a lotta powerful Pokémon don't look the part either, so…" He stretched. "I'm Nanu, by the way – Ula'Ula Island's Kahuna, Chief of Police for Ula'Ula Island, and overseer for the Dark-type Trial. So, which of ya needs a Darkium-Z?"

"I am" Kuro stepped forward. "I'm the only one of us who has a Dark-type."

"Alright, then. You got two Pokémon, right? So we'll have a 2-on-2 battle. Do well enough, and I'll give you a Crystal."

Kuro sent out her Sneasel, and Nanu tossed a Dusk Ball that released a dull-purple gremlin thing with red and blue gems for eyes, a mouth full of pointy teeth currently giving off a cocky grin, and another gem set into its chest – a Sableye. Sneasel prepared to move, but then Sableye lunged forward suddenly and clapped its hands in front of her face, the Fake Out making her flinch, leaving her open to a follow-up Feint Attack. Growling, Sneasel dodged its attempt to Shadow Claw her, and smacked it with a Metal Claw followed by a blast of Icy Wind.

Sableye spat out a Shadow Ball at Sneasel, blasting her back. The Dark/Ice-type then had to move quick to dodge a focused barrage of Power Gems, running in a wide circle around her opponent as it 'chased' her with the attack. She formed and threw a handful of Ice Shard kunai at Sableye, hitting it and forcing it to stop firing Power Gems at her, and then she used Quick Attack to close the gap and flowed into a Feint Attack that caught Sableye in the side. She winced as Sableye hit her with a Shadow Claw, but then returned the favor with a Metal Claw strike, then another, and then a blast of Icy Wind that blew Sableye off its feet and caked its body with frost.

Grumbling as it got to its feet, trying to shake the frost off, Sableye prepared to charge another Shadow Ball. Suddenly, however, the battle received a startling interruption as, with a tearing sound, an Ultra Wormhole suddenly ripped into being in the air above their heads. The fight came to a halt, Sneasel & Sableye joining their Trainers and the others in looking up warily at the surging white hole between realms.

"Aw, crap…" Nanu murmured.

From the Ultra Wormhole, a huge black thing dropped out, clawed feet landing with a ground-shaking thud. A big round body had a small head with three gold-tipped horns and a pair of glowing blue eyes atop it, flanked by two larger horns. A pair of tiny wings and a big tail with a spiked club on the end sprouted from its back, and two three-clawed arms reached out from the top of its bulbous main body. Most striking, however, were the secondary eyes on its 'chest', sitting over an _enormous_ gaping mouth ringed with gold & black fangs, with a pair of serpentine arms tipped with crushing claws emerging up & out from inside. The beast, a mighty Guzzlord, let out a deep roar, stomping its foot to shake the earth again.

"Trial's paused, kids!" Nanu was suddenly alert and all-business, recalling his Sableye and sending out his Alolan Persian. "Send out everything you've got; we're gonna need it to handle this thing!"

Kuro sent out her Dartrix to join her Sneasel, Miyu her Brionne and Alolan Vulpix, and Illya her Butterfree, Cottonee, and Floette. The three girls then transformed, Illya & Miyu readying their Kaleido-Sticks, Illya & Kuro summoning their Keyblades.

The Guzzlord charged forward, spinning around once to swing its Dragon Tail at the group. The Pokémon all leapt back or up to dodge, some of them returning fire – an Air Slash from Butterfree, Bubble Beam from Brionne, Razor Leaf from Dartrix, and Dark Pulse from A-Persian. The attacks all hit, but the big Ultra Beast, built like a tank, shrugged the hits off with minimal damage. Guzzlord then swung one of its pincer-arms down at Illya and A-Vulpix in a Hammer Arm, and when Illya hurriedly tossed up a Shield spell it cracked and warped from the impact, the young mage gritting her teeth as she tried to push back. Vulpix blasted the Ultra Beast with a ghostly Hex, but the behemoth barely even noticed.

Miyu and Kuro fired a wave of Light-type _Sagitta Magica_ at the Guzzlord, which grumbled and growled as it turned its gaze to them. Nanu's Alolan Persian then Slashed the beast across its back while it was distracted, and then fired a wave of star-shaped Swift energy bolts at its upper 'face'. The beast snarled and hit A-Persian with a Brutal Swing of one of its mouth-arms, knocking the cat away, and then tried to Stomp Illya's Cottonee as he floated around under it. The cotton-ball Pokémon dodged the crushing foot, and then blasted the Beast in the butt with Razor Leaves. Guzzlord then managed to nail Cottonee with a strike from its clubbed tail, but Brionne Aqua-Jetted in and grabbed Cottonee out of the way before the Guzzlord could try to crush him while he was stunned.

Floette cast Lucky Chant, shrouding everyone in a protective field that would somewhat dampen incoming damage. Butterfree and Dartrix fluttered above, hitting Guzzlord with Bug Buzz and Ominous Wind, while Illya joined them and fired a wave of pink mana bolts. When Floette and Cottonee added their Fairy Winds to the cause, the combined hits made Guzzlord stagger back a little. Then, however, the beast roared and threw a Stomping Tantrum, catching Brionne and Sneasel with it, harming and stunning them. It then leapt up and fell down toward them, trying to crush them both with a Heavy Slam…

There was a flash of movement, and suddenly Sneasel and Brionne were out of the line of fire, leaving Guzzlord to smash down into the pavement without hurting anyone. Both Pokémon had been rescued by a fae-like Pokémon with a black body with white & red markings, two halves of a red shell opened to look like a hat, from which sprouted a pair of yellow-tipped black horns, what looked like golden bells for hands, a lower body that tapered into a point with another, larger golden bell, and what looked like the nose-ring one would see in a bull. Sizing up the invader, Tapu Bulu snorted in anger.

Then, Tapu Bulu turned his gaze to Illya and her Cottonee, and floated over to them. He gave Illya the object that Totem Xatu had instructed him to bring, and the girl's eyes widened as the Sun Stone was placed in her hand. She looked down at her Cottonee, who nodded. Illya pressed the Sun Stone onto Cottonee, and it & he became a unified mass of light that grew and shifted. When the light faded, he was now a brown-bodied little plant sprite with a bit of white fluff on his upper chest, a pair of curly green 'bangs' framing his face, and a mane of white cotton-fluff bigger than the rest of his body. Whimsicott punched his tiny fists together, ready for action.

Guzzlord growled as Nanu's Persian's Night Slash raked across its side, and then Whimsicott charged & fired a glowing green orb of power, the Energy Ball hitting the Ultra Beast in the 'face'. Tapu Bulu charged in head-first with horns wreathed in yellowish-green energy, a mighty Megahorn making Guzzlord stagger back, visibly affected by such a high-level move thrown at it by a Legendary. Guzzlord tucked in its limbs and rolled at Kuro's Sneasel and Nanu, trying to Steamroller them, but Miyu's A-Vulpix used Icy Wind on the ground in the Ultra Beast's path, making it lose traction and skid off-course. Silver Wind from Butterfree and a wave of Flame Salvo fire-bolts from Kuro battered the Guzzlord before it could right itself, and as it growled and tried to lunge at them with belly-mouth wide open, intending to Crunch and eat them, a Scald blast from Miyu's Brionne shot into its open mouth, making the beast howl in enraged pain as it got a tongue burn for its troubles.

Now, Miyu slotted her Icium-Z Crystal into her Z-Power Ring, forming the rising arm movements that triggered the crystal's power. Her Alolan Vulpix was wreathed in a bright, wispy aura, and then a pillar of ice shot up from the ground underneath her, carrying her several meters up and giving her a high vantage point. Full of Z-Power, she unleashed her Subzero Slammer, a huge thick beam of Ice-type energy carving across the ground and slamming into Guzzlord, enveloping the Ultra Beast in ice. The ice then shattered with explosive force, dealing heavy damage to the invader.

The Guzzlord groaned, caked in frost and barely on its feet. Tapu Bulu hit it in the chest with a Horn Leech, leeching away a bit more of its vitality, and then a light Fairy Wind from Illya's Whimsicott finished it off, causing to topple over with an earth-trembling thud. Everyone watched it carefully, but relaxed after it didn't get back up.

"Well, _that_ was a pain in the ass" Nanu remarked. "Good thing you kids were here when this thing came calling. Here." He pulled a small black crystal out of his pocket – a Darkinium-Z – and tossed it to Kuro. "I'd say helping stop a rampaging Ultra Beast qualifies you for the crystal, especially since I think it might've been part Dark-type."

"That leaves just one left" Illya said. "The Fairy Z-Crystal. We're off to Poni Island…" She turned to her newly-evolved Whimsicott, she & he smiling at each other. "At least we've got a little more power on our side now."

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**


	4. Poni

**SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** _ **CHAPTER START**_ **-**

 **Realm PKM-42 – Alola Region – Poni Island – Seafolk Village**

Illya, Miyu, & Kuro stepped off the high-speed ferry they'd ridden from Ula'Ula Island, finding themselves in a village composed of docks and piers and bridges, a huge tree growing out of a central floating platform, and several house-boats of different class & size tethered here and there as residences and businesses. Following the directions Kukui had sent them, they headed to a houseboat made to look like a Whiscash, and rang the doorbell.

After about half a minute, the door was opened from inside by a girl who looked to be in her late teens, her dull-blonde hair hanging down in two big 'tails' that framed her face, the ends either dyed or painted pink, the rest of her hair in a low ponytail behind her head. She had a matching pink stripe across her face over her nose, beneath her droopy-looking eyes, and the oversized white shirt she wore had a few paint stains on it as well.

"Oh, hey" she said. "You're the kids Kukui told me about and sent a pic so I'd know you. I'm Mina, Fairy-type Trial Captain. You're here to earn the Fairium-Z Crystal, right?"

Illya and Miyu stepped forward. "We are" Miyu replied.

Mina nodded. "'Kay, then. Follow me."

She led them out of Seafolk Village (pointing out a couple of shops on the way like a tour guide) and into the wilds just north of the town, bringing them to a small field of flowers; they were close enough to the shore that they could faintly hear the waves if they concentrated.

"Since we've got two challengers here today," she said, "one of you will face me, while the other takes on the Totem Pokémon."

She whistled a brief melody, and a yellow & white fairy Pokémon wearing a brown 'scarf' of fuzzy fur buzzed its way up & out from the flowers – a Ribombee, noticeably bigger than the norm for its species. As the Totem Ribombee and Illya prepared to face off, the white-haired girl sending out her Floette, Miyu and Mina prepared to do battle as well; the dark-haired girl sent out her Brionne, while the young Trial Captain chose to start with her Mawile.

Mina's Mawile prepared to lunge at Brionne with a Bite, but the seal was quicker on the draw, smacking into it with an Aqua Jet tackle. The Steel/Fairy-type frowned as it was caught off-guard, and then retaliated with a Sucker Punch as Brionne tried to follow through, knocking her back. Mawile's body briefly shimmered silver as it cast Iron Defense, boosting its durability against physical blows, and then leapt to the side to dodge a Water Gun.

Illya's Floette released a barrage of multicolored Magical Leaves at the Totem Ribombee, being sliced and battered by the hits but quickly recovering and tossing an explosive Pollen Puff at Floette. The little Fairy quickly used her flower to shield herself from the 'small' blast, and was only partially successful. Totem Ribombee fluttered in, intent on using Draining Kiss to do a little more damage and heal itself, but Floette dodged and whacked the other Pokémon with a Vine Whip, followed by a Fairy Wind to blow it away.

Mina's Mawile braced itself against the gust of Icy Wind from Miyu's Brionne, and then rushed at the seal Pokémon, using the Ice Fang attack Mina had helped it learn to handle Ground-types. Brionne leapt to dodge the frost-tipped fangs of Mawile's crown-jaw, and blasted the Fairy with Disarming Voice, knocking Mawile back a little but overall not doing too much damage (what with Brionne not getting a Same-Type Attack Bonus, and Mawile being part Steel-type). Mawile swung the big fanged protrusion sprouting from the top of its head as a flail, smacking into Brionne's side, but was then bombarded by Bubble Beam blasts.

As Floette was sent reeling by a direct hit from one of Totem Ribombee's Pollen Puffs, Illya decided to recall her, swapping out for Whimsicott. The cotton-fairy fired an Energy Ball at his Totem opponent, the big Ribombee sent tumbling through the air by the impact. Totem Ribombee frowned and released a focused wave of bright pink light, the Dazzling Gleam knocking Whimsicott back and stunning him. However, in the seconds before his vision returned to normal after the bright flash, he managed to hear the Bug Buzz attack coming and float out of the way, flinging Razor Leaves to keep the Totem on its toes, managing to score a few hits.

Flipping over Mawile's attempt to headbutt her with an Iron Head strike, Brionne Sang at her opponent, the Mawile's eyes quickly fluttering closed despite its attempts to fight the enforced drowsiness. Brionne used the opportunity to chill her opponent with Icy Wind and then blast her with a shot of Scald, knocking Mawile back and doing quite a bit of damage. Waking up, Mawile rushed in with pink Fairy power, intent on Playing Rough with Brionne, but Brionne blasted it in the face with Bubble Beam and then rushed in with another Aqua Jet. Mawile managed to Bite her, but she fought through the pain and fired another Scald point-blank. Staggering, Mawile fell over backwards, and Mina recalled her Pokémon.

"Not too bad" she said. "You can swap 'mons now, if you want."

Nodding, Miyu recalled Brionne and sent her Alolan Vulpix out, and the ice-fox then looked up at the fearsome face of Mina's Granbull as it emerged from its Great Ball.

Whimsicott's Fairy Wind and Totem Ribombee's Silver Wind met in the middle, turbulent air swirling with pink and silver sparkles. Neither attack managed to break through the other, but then the Totem Ribombee flew up & over, closed in quickly and blasted Whimsicott with a close-range Pollen Puff. Seeing its opponent staggered, it went in for a Draining Kiss, but then Whimsicott abruptly lashed out and grabbed hold of the fluttering fairy and used Giga Drain to siphon away a sizable chunk of its vitality, healing himself in the process. Then, Whimsicott shook his mane of fluff, and yellowish spores drifted out and clung to Ribombee, the Stun Spore taking hold and slowing the fairy's movements. Frowning, the Totem managed to hit Whimsicott with an up-close Bug Buzz, knocking the fluffy fairy end over end. Gritting his teeth, Whimsicott looked back at his Trainer, who nodded and recalled him for now, sending out her Butterfree.

Miyu's Alolan Vulpix hopped back to avoid Granbull's attempt to bite her, and blasted the bulldog-fairy with a focused wave of Icy Wind. The beefy Fairy-type dodged her bolts of ghostly Hex power, and hit her with a Headbutt that sent her reeling. She retaliated with a Payback strike, and then a close-range fusillade of Ice Shards. Steaming with Rage, Mina's Granbull charged and thrashed at Miyu's A-Vulpix, but she nimbly danced around its attempts to Play Rough with her and then hit it with a Confuse Ray. As Granbull swung wildly at thin air in its confusion, Miyu commanded her A-Vulpix to hit it with Icy Wind, but instead the ice-fox felt new power welling up in her, and released it in the form of a focused beam of shimmering multicolored light imbued with Ice-type energy – an Aurora Beam. The beam shoved Granbull back, doing a fair bit of damage.

Butterfree used a Gust to blow an incoming Pollen Puff away, and fired a Psybeam at the Totem Ribombee. The fairy-bug took the hit, and between all the damage it had taken so far and the paralysis from Whimsicott's Stun Spore it was visibly worse for wear. Still, it was determined and able to fight on, releasing a Bug Buzz that struck a glancing blow on Butterfree as he tried to dodge.

Then, Illya slotted her Buginium-Z into her Z-Power Ring, and made the movements that Guzma had shown her. Butterfree glowed with Z-Power, and fired a thick string of extra-strength silk that rapidly engulfed Totem Ribombee in an ovoid cocoon. He swung it high overhead, slamming it back down into the ground hard, and then dragged it across the ground and flung it into the air. He dashed forward, finishing the Savage Spin-Out attack with a full-force slicing blow imbued with Bug-type Z-Power. The Totem Ribombee was obviously in a bad way, hovering unsteadily in the air. Butterfree flew in close and nailed it with an Air Slash attack, and the Totem Pokémon dropped from the air, landing amongst the flowers out cold.

Miyu's A-Vulpix and Mina's Granbull clashed again, a Hex blast and a Headbutt hitting their respective targets. A-Vulpix hit Granbull with another Confuse Ray, but in its wild thrashing it still managed to hit her, stunning her and leaving her open to a crushing Crunch attack. Wriggling in the beast's jaws, A-Vulpix swirled Powder Snow around herself, giving Granbull enough brain-freeze to force it to release her. She blasted him with another Aurora Beam, but he pushed through and grabbed her, flinging and slamming her around in a Play Rough attack. When he let her go, she struggled to stay standing, but then collapsed. …And then, as its adrenaline started to wear off, all the hits Granbull had taken finally added up, and it keeled over too.

Mina winced lightly. "I guess that one's a draw. Still, if draws count as a point, you beat me 2-to-1, and if they don't you _still_ beat me 1-to-0. So either way, kiddo, you win. Both of you did well. Here ya go."

She pulled out a pair of light-pink diamond-shaped gems – Fairium-Z Crystals – and handed them to Illya and Miyu.

"This is the last one you girls need, right? Good goin'. …But, to help you out, how 'bout I let you girls use a couple of my TMs to teach any of your Pokémon a few new moves? C'mon, let's head back to my place and I'll let you skim through my collection, see if you find anything good."

 **-** _ **Break**_ **-**

Mina's collection of TMs bore fruit, allowing the girls to slightly expand their teams' options; Illya taught the Psychic attack to her Butterfree and Dazzling Gleam to her Whimsicott & Floette, both of Kuro's Pokémon now knew Shadow Claw, Miyu's Brionne learned Echoed Voice, and her Alolan Vulpix got Frost Breath and Double Team.

Now, the girls were making their way up an enormous flight of ancient stone stairs; since it would be exhausting and time-consuming to climb normally, they had transformed so they could make magic-powered leaps up a dozen or so stairs at a time, ascending much more quickly. Finally, they reached the top, finding a large ritual site of sorts hewn from the rock, different levels connected by stairs, a few pedestals, a large diamond-shaped platform carved from black tiles, and all at the foot of a huge elaborate structure carved into the rock-face, centered around a big stylized sun symbol.

"We made it" Illya said. "The Altar of the Sunne…"

"The energies slumbering in this place are _amazing_ …" Kaleido Sapphire whispered in an awed tone.

Illya stepped forward onto the big black diamond mark. The three girls then startled as an Ultra Wormhole began to form overhead… and then suddenly, a huge white beast flew in and slashed it with his claws, destabilizing and collapsing the rift. With a thud, the big creature landed in front of the girls; it was like a big white lion, its mane like an 8-pointed star, streaked with bits of orange, and with eight spokes of gold framing its face; the area around its eyes and forehead looked like a tiny piece of the starry sky, its faintly-glowing eyes looking down at the girls. Its presence felt ancient and warm, like the sun itself.

"S… Solgaleo…" Kuro breathed out.

'…The gifted child that my sister Lunala chose to forge a Summoning Contract with,' the beast's calm psychic voice proclaimed, 'along with two comrades who also bear great power and Light. I assume the current budding crisis involving these invaders is what brought you here?'

"Y-Yes, Solgaleo" Illya replied. "We recently learned what's causing them to appear, too. Um, it's a bit long to explain…"

Then, she felt as Solgaleo read through her memories, focusing on the conversation with the other-world travelers.

'…So, it is as I feared. That pitiable, terrible creature is returning… Things are about to boil over, I can feel it.'

Suddenly, with a tearing sound, another Ultra Wormhole formed overhead, this one larger even than the one the Guzzlord that attacked Malie City had come through. From within, a huge black creature emerged – its body sharp and angular and spiky, like pieces of a prism tainted black, oversized arms ending in blocky claws, a strangely-shaped head and upper body that had a pair of multicolored prismatic eyes peeking out from inside. The creature's presence was dark and foreboding, the power it was giving off was frighteningly high, and as it let out a metallic, hollow cry, the sky overhead began to darken.

"Necrozma!" Kuro summoned her Divewing Keyblade. "It's here!"

Solgaleo snarled as he glared up at the monster hovering overhead. Then, he took off like a rocket, running on air while wreathed in a glowing white aura. A shadowy black aura enveloped Necrozma as Solgaleo tackled it into the rock face, and then both titans zipped around through the air, white and black auras enveloping them to make them look like a pair of comets curving through the sky and smashing together again and again. Illya, Miyu, & Kuro ducked and covered as the fighting legends passed by low overhead, the ground trembling.

The two masses of energy collided and slammed down onto the central altar, the light and dust fading to reveal Necrozma on top of Solgaleo, one huge claw pinning his head down. Then, Necrozma's prismatic eyes flashed, and the girls had to shield their eyes as a bright wave of light engulfed the two beings. When it faded, they stared in shock as they beheld what appeared to be Solgaleo wearing Necrozma's parts as armor – the lion's body glowing white & gold, spiky black claws on his paws, a trident-like black portion on his tail-tip, black armor plating along his sides & back, Necrozma's arms extending up & out from his back like wings, and Necrozma's face forming a sort of visor over his eyes. The merged beast's paw stepping forward made the altar tremble, as it loomed over the little humans.

"R… Ruby, can you tell who's in charge?" Illya asked her AI-Spirit partner.

"Unfortunately," Kaleido Ruby replied, "judging by the scans, Necrozma's in control. Which means we're in _deep_ trouble…"

Dusk-Mane Necrozma let out a deep, echoing, bone-shuddering roar that possessed a flanging pseudo-mechanical reverb to it. Even though it was midday, the sky all around darkened to what you would expect at sundown, and several Ultra Wormholes tore their way into existence. Ultra Beasts flew out and scattered, intent on 'exploring', finding strong opponents, and generally causing panic and havoc.

Illya, Miyu, and Kuro sent out all their Pokémon, and the Einzbern siblings readied their Keyblades. Sensing the weapons' Light, Dusk-Mane Necrozma lunged at the girls. They and their Pokémon quickly scattered, and Kuro fired a Firaga blast while Illya's Butterfree blasted with Bug Buzz and Miyu's Brionne fired a jet of Scald at the monster. The various attacks seemed to glance off the hybrid-beast's armored hide, and it swung its blade-arms in a wide sweeping arc to release waves of slicing purplish psychic energy – Psycho Cut – that almost cut straight through Miyu's shield-spell and sent Floette & A-Vulpix flying, though they did nothing to Sneasel.

As the others continued to engage Necrozma and its puppet host, Miyu leapt back to get some distance, and then focused her energies while weaving the hand-seals for the Summoning Jutsu. She slammed her palm to the ground, and with a burst of moonlight Lunala emerged in all her glory. The Moon's Concept gaped in startled shock once she was what she was up against.

'Brother?! What has happened to him?'

"It's Necrozma," Miyu replied, "the 'broken' Pokémon that tried to devour this region's Light centuries ago. It has returned, and it's somehow taken parasitic control of Solgaleo!"

'…Then let's tear that thing off him.'

"Where is this island's Tapu, Fini?"

'The four guardians are assisting the Kahunas in fending off more of the invading beasts. We will have to manage without them.'

Lunala took to the air, firing a Shadow Ball at Dusk-Mane Necrozma, nailing it in the side. The hybrid monster snarled as it shook off the pain, and fired a thin lancing beam of silver energy – a Flash Cannon shot – at the interloper. Lunala spun around the Flash Cannon and flapped her huge bat-like wings forward to release an Air Slash wave, while Illya flung out a _Schneiden_ wave from the other side of the monster. The two attacks hit, but Dusk-Mane Necrozma had little damage to show for it, and fired a Power Gem barrage at Illya while leaping over Brionne's attempt to Aqua-Jet tackle it and knocking the little seal senseless with a Zen Headbutt.

Kuro formed a Trace of Strada, Erio's Device, and swung the spear to release a cutting wave of Lightning magic at Necrozma. The hybrid-beast braced itself to weather the hit, and then was about to fire a Charge Beam at her when Lunala suddenly appeared from a portal beside it while wreathed in ghostly energy, her Phantom Force strike knocking Dusk-Mane Necrozma away. She fired a Night Daze blast next, but the beast threw itself out of the way and then charged & fired an orb of light that shot down into the ground; a second later, the Photon Geyser blasted up from under Lunala, engulfing her in damaging Light.

Illya's Floette closed in while channeling Grass-type power, and then a whirling torrent of slicing petals blasted Dusk-Mane Necrozma in the chest, the Petal Blizzard shoving the monster back a little. Then, Illya was enveloped in light as she 'Included' the Caster Card, and then used its power to unleash a barrage of mana bolts at the hybrid beast, each one detonating with concussive force. As Necrozma tried to weather the storm, it was forced to close its eyes as Kuro's Sneasel and Miyu's A-Vulpix fired Ice Shards at its face. Illya's Whimsicott & Floette blasted the beast with a double Dazzling Gleam, and Lunala fired a Moonblast for good measure.

As the dust faded, Dusk-Mane Necrozma let out an enraged roar that shook the air, its compound-body flaring with power. It began charging power through its Solgaleo host, preparing the Sun Concept's signature move. In response, Lunala took position, her body glowing with power as she began to charge motes of moonlight in front of her, forming a quickly-growing sphere of power.

Lunala fired first, the thick Moongeist Beam surging across the battlefield toward Dusk-Mane Necrozma. The beast roared and charged into it, body wreathed in the solar power of Sunsteel Strike. After a few seconds, everyone was shocked to see Necrozma steadily charging _through_ Lunala's attack, closing in on her. She was unable to move out of the way before the hybrid-beast slammed into her… and, as it did, it and she were engulfed in a blazing column of light.

The sky overhead darkened further, quickly becoming black as night but without starlight or moonlight. The Prism Trio and their Pokémon stared in terrified awe as they sensed the twisted power growing within the tainted Light. When it faded, Necrozma had undergone a startling transformation. The creature that was once a misshapen black prism-thing now appeared in the form of a huge glowing dragon-like being, a body made of hard light with the various pieces of its 'lesser' form, now glowing bright, revealed to be armor over its feet, face, lower jaw, wings, and chest. Ultra Necrozma's hard-light body wavered slightly, the beast growling.

'FOUND… LIGHT… STILL… HURTS… STILL… BRO…KEN… NEED MORE… _LIGHT_! _ALL! LIGHT!-!_ '

As Illya released her Caster Install and wondered what the hell they were supposed to do _now_ , she suddenly felt as Kuro & Miyu donated power to her. The white parts of her outfit turned golden-yellow, the points of her cape and the little wings of her hair-ties turning yellow as well, her Counterpoint being shrouded in golden-yellow light, while Kaleido Ruby assumed Keyblade form and floated beside her. Illya steeled herself, hoping the power of Master Form would be enough…

Ultra Necrozma opened its mouth wide, charging and firing a powerful Shadow Ball at Miyu and her Pokémon. They barely got out of the way in time, and A-Vulpix fired an Aurora Beam at the draconic creature while Miyu released a wave of star-shaped magic blasts. Ultra-Necrozma barely noticed the hits it took, and took to the air to dodge an exploding arrow fired by Kuro, firing a Mirror Shot at the pink-haired girl that she deflected with her Divewing.

Master-Form Illya flew in, casting Thundaga to bombard Ultra-Necrozma with lightning bolts. The light-dragon growled as the boosted Lightning magic struck it, and then the claws of one arm briefly turned jet-black as it swung a Night Slash at Illya, who flitted up and out of the way and fired a single wave of Prism Rain bolts as she fell back. An Energy Ball from her Whimsicott, a Bubble Beam from Miyu's Brionne, and a Blizzaga spell fired from Kuro's Keyblade all hit Ultra-Necrozma in the chest, but barely did anything to the mighty maddened monster. The beast opened its mouth and gathered power, preparing to fire another Photon Geyser blast…

The emergence of such a grave threat to the world could not possibly remain unnoticed by the ancient entities sworn to defend it. Thus it was that Rayquaza, already in his Mega form, made his grand entrance as a Dragon Pulse that slammed into Ultra-Necrozma from above and to the right, knocking the monster to the side. It fired its Photon Geyser at the emerald dragon as he flew in, but he twisted around the energy orb and let it sail harmlessly off into the darkened sky. As Mega-Rayquaza took position amongst the Prism Trio and their Pokémon, it was revealed that he'd brought backup; a black portal opened behind Ultra-Necrozma, and then the beast staggered forward, growling in pained anger, as Giratina's Shadow Claw raked across its back. The guardian of the barriers between Realms took position beside the Guardian Dragon, with the three magic-using humans forming up with them as well.

'I remember the last time this creature invaded this world' Giratina spoke telepathically. 'Though, I did not arrive in time to assist Solgaleo, Lunala, and the Tapus in driving it off. I'm assuming things didn't go so well this time…'

'To put it mildly…' Mega-Rayquaza replied. 'I can sense the siblings' essence within the creature; it has absorbed them both. Its form is slightly unstable, however; the nature of its injuries and the accompanying damage to its mind prevent it from truly reacquiring its lost perfect form. We may be able to do enough damage to forcibly destabilize it to the point that it loses its grip on Solgaleo & Lunala.'

'It won't be easy. This thing feels like it's as powerful as _you_ are right now.'

'When is fending off beings strong enough to forcibly invade our realm _ever_ easy, Giratina? At least we have a little help.'

Ultra-Necrozma charged up a mass of glittering white light, and then fired a powerful Solar Beam at the heroes. They scattered to dodge, and Giratina blasted the rampaging light-beast with Ominous Wind, pushing the beast back a little. It charged at the ghostly serpent Pokémon, wreathing itself in flames as it used Solgaleo's Flare Blitz. Giratina was hit before he could get out of the way, sent reeling by the impact, but Ultra-Necrozma was in turn hit by a wave of _Sagitta Magica_ from Miyu and a wave of Psychic from Illya's Butterfree. The beast roared and swung its claw in a Slash aimed at Miyu while spitting out a Moonblast at Dartrix & Sneasel; Kaleido Sapphire formed a shield to protect her mistress, while Kuro used her Keyblade to, with some effort, deflect and bat away the attack aimed at her Pokémon.

Ultra-Necrozma charged up a mass of Light energy, then tossed it high. It burst like a star exploding, and an enormous barrage of prismatically-sparkling energy bolts rained down in a continuous withering storm. Everyone scrambled to dodge the Prismatic Laser barrage, and though they avoided the majority they all took some hits. Mega-Rayquaza was the first to recover, firing a powerful Hyper Beam that caught Ultra-Necrozma square in the chest before it could dodge, blasting it back quite a ways. Blasts of Dazzling Gleam from Illya's Whimsicott & Floette hit it in the face, and Miyu's A-Vulpix awakened a new move, focusing psychic power and hitting Ultra-Necrozma with a wave of Extrasensory force. Giratina floated in close, dodging Ultra-Necrozma's Psycho Cut attempt and slashing the light-beast with a Shadow Claw strike, but then being blasted back by a Moongeist Beam that left him briefly stunned; Illya moved to cover the ghostly serpent, casting a durable gold-hued Reflega to deflect an incoming Power Gam barrage while she cast Curaga on him, and then firing Blizzaga shots from her Keyblades at Ultra-Necrozma.

Air-Slash waves from Ultra-Necrozma hit Miyu's Brionne, Illya, and Mega-Rayquaza, but didn't manage to do much to the latter two, with Kuro casting Cura to help Miyu's Pokémon recover. Kuro then Traced the twin swords known as 'Kiba', using them to form and orb a concussive blast of Lightning power that hit Ultra-Necrozma in the face, briefly blinding it. While the beast's vision recovered, Mega-Rayquaza flew in close and landed a powerful Dragon Claw strike, while Illya came in and slashed at the beast with Counterpoint and Keyblade-Ruby, her blades making rapid whirling strikes at her magic-telekinetic control. Ultra-Necrozma snarled in pained anger, blowing Illya back with a Shadow Ball and trying to bash Mega-Rayquaza with a Zen Headbutt, only for the emerald dragon to twist around the light-beast's body and jab at it with the prong-like projections flanking his head.

Illya slotted her recently-acquired Fairium-Z Crystal into her Z-Power Ring, and light-pink power flowed into & through her Whimsicott. He flew forward while wreathed in light like a tiny pink comet, and on impact the tiny fairy's Twinkle Tackle knocked the great big light-dragon monster back a little. Then, Miyu activated her Waterium-Z, and her Brionne shot forward and 'flew' around Ultra-Necrozma at great speed while summoning a huge mass of water, the Hydro Whirlpool spinning and battering the titan around. Kuro slotted her Darkium-Z into her Z-Ring, and her Sneasel formed and launched a seething black orb of power. The Black-Hole Eclipse impacted Ultra-Necrozma and expanded into a crushing singularity, tearing at its hard-light body and then exploding with great force.

Being hit by three Z-Moves in a row was enough to do quite a number on even something as powerful as Ultra-Necrozma, and combined with the other hits it had taken it was finally starting to show, its light dimmed slightly. Illya brought her Keyblades together and began charging a big mass of pink magical light; upon learning of the girl using Starlight Breaker courtesy of Teana's teachings, Nanoha had taught Illya this 'lesser' (only by comparison) finishing move as well. Soon the power was fully charged, and Illya let it loose:

" _DIVINE BUSTER!-!_ "

The big bright pink beam of light and destructive power surged through the darkness and slammed into Ultra-Necrozma like a speeding train, the sustained beam hitting it in the face for several seconds, knocking it to the ground. When it faded, Ultra-Necrozma's body visibly 'glitched' a few times as it let out a weak roar. …And then, Mega-Rayquaza delivered the _coup de gr_ _â_ _ce_. Streaking down from high above like an incoming asteroid, his full-power Dragon Ascent strike hit Ultra-Necrozma with such force that the energies released made the whole mountain shudder.

After several seconds, the light began to return to the sky overhead. As Mega-Rayquaza straightened up, light from the impact site faded to reveal Solgaleo and Lunala stirring, and Necrozma – back in its black angular form – splayed out beside them, weakly trying to move. Setting down, Illya cautiously approached the fallen creature.

' _Still… hurts…_ ' its psychic voice weakly echoed. ' _But… not as… much… Still… hard to… think… but… easier… than be…fore…_ '

'Perhaps being struck by the light of Z-Power, the light of the Keyblades, and the light of Mega Evolution eased the creature's maddening pain a little…' Giratina surmised.

Rayquaza sighed, letting his Mega Evolution drop. 'I will speak with Arceus, and see if we can do anything to further heal and rehabilitate Necrozma.' He turned to the Prism Trio. 'You fought well, children – you and your Pokémon both. Thank for you assisting in containing this situation.'

"It would've been worse if you two hadn't shown up" Kuro replied. "We should be thanking _you_. …Necrozma was probably the Guardian Dragon of his home world, wasn't he? Before the people he was supposed to watch over betrayed and wounded him so badly…"

'When he is fully healed, _if_ he is ever fully healed… I do not know if he will choose whether to resume that duty, or leave the descendants of those who wronged him to fend for themselves. Granted, not every populated world has a Guardian Dragon, so not having one wouldn't be some unignorably crippling factor for their civilization…'

'Where will you go next?' Giratina asked the girls.

Illya's expression hardened. "To Miyu's homeworld. We need to put a stop to whatever the Ainsworth clan is planning, so she can be safe from them, and perhaps we can find a way to stop whatever poisonous energy is slowly killing that world." 'And find out just what, exactly, Julian is _truly_ fighting for…'

"Can we take a bit of a break first?" Kuro asked. "I'm tired and hungry; we've gotta get some food and some sleep after all that…"

 **-** _ **CHAPTER END**_ **-**

And with that, the Pokémon-world part of Book 36 is over with. Next time, we head back to Miyu-chan's home. …Unfortunately, that means that this Book is now going on hiatus, which will last until the _Prisma Illya_ manga's _3rei_ arc is finally done with, which is likely going to take months. Hell, at the rate the manga's new releases are coming, and with the amount of plot happening per new chapter, it'll likely be well after _Kingdom Hearts III_ comes out, so _that_ book is gonna be waiting in the wings, too.

In any event, I'll see you guys in however many months it takes _3rei_ to finish its climax.

[Illya's Butterfree: Gust, Confusion, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Psybeam, Silver Wind, Supersonic, Safeguard, Whirlwind, Air Slash, Bug Buzz, Psychic]

[Illya's Whimsicott: Absorb, Fairy Wind, Leech Seed, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Cotton Spore, Razor Leaf, Poison Powder, Charm, Giga Drain, Energy Ball, Dazzling Gleam]

[Illya's Floette: Tackle, Vine Whip, Fairy Wind, Lucky Chant, Razor Leaf, Wish, Magical Leaf, Dazzling Gleam, Petal Blizzard]

[Miyu's Brionne: Pound, Water Gun, Disarming Voice, Aqua Jet, Icy Wind, Bubble Beam, Sing, Double Slap, Scald, Echoed Voice]

[Miyu's Alolan Vulpix: Powder Snow, Ice Shard, Confuse Ray, Icy Wind, Payback, Mist, Hex _,_ Aurora Beam, Frost Breath, Double Team,Extrasensory]

[Kuro's Dartrix: Tackle, Leafage, Peck, Astonish, Razor Leaf, Ominous Wind, Foresight, Pluck, Shadow Claw]

[Kuro's Sneasel: Scratch, Taunt, Leer, Quick Attack, Feint Attack, Icy Wind, Fury Swipes, Metal Claw, Beat Up, Slash, Ice Shard, Shadow Claw]


	5. 3rei Author's Note

**SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS**

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

Okay, you know what? I give up. I've been waiting _over a_ _year_ for Prisma Illya 3rei to wrap up, and it isn't even _close_ , especially with the author going on random months-long hiatuses out of nowhere. So, I'm going to post here, from my "Story Outlines" document file, the bare-bones skeletal outline that I _meant_ to expand upon using the canon story, regarding where this would've gone.

- _Break_ -

· [Following may be completely invalidated or made impossible depending on how the _3rei_ arc proceeds in canon]

· The final battle against Julian/Darius Ainsworth and his underlings commences

· Some DDF people come to help (Qrow, maybe Kairi, the Happiness-Charge Cures [including Cure Fortune pulling a 'Dynamic Entry' to save Kuro from being strangled], maybe Prof. Kukui…)

· While Miyu summons ( _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ ) Lunala, Illya does the same with Solgaleo; as the battle wears on, Necrozma – now healed and saner than before – gets brought in as well

· Possible finale: Solgaleo & Lunala willingly temp-fusing with Necrozma to bring about Ultra Necrozma, while Illya assumes her 'Final Form' Drive Mode, the two of them fighting together against the final foe(s) (with the battle set to Ultra Necrozma's battle theme from _Ultra Sun/Moon_ )

· Possible: Miyu becomes a Keyblade Wielder

· Possible plot point: Raven Branwen, following her 'link' to Qrow, bears witness to the titanic battle, and seeing all the power these dimension-hopping heroes have to work with makes her start to think that, just maybe, Salem isn't so undefeatable after all…

- _Break_ -

Also, I made a few changes to earlier Books – changed Alicia's method of revival in Book 14, removed a kinda-risky part of Book 23 and expanded upon that Book's final chapter, changed the flashback part of Book 26's second chapter so it's less gruesome and more badass, changed the Aiur chapter of Book 31 to make it so Kizuna, Golden Tiara, and Sarah are now "merely" Type-2 Jinchūriki with Summoning contracts with their respective 'chakra benefactors', changed Book 32's RWBY chapter to remove Adam losing an arm and alter how the Grimm Wyvern is dealt with (Itachi no longer uses his Form-4 Susanō to kill the monster; he still has it, but now he hasn't gotten a chance to use it yet), made a few additions and alterations to the height data in Book 35.5 (I have downgraded Teana's height to 165 centimeters)…

If the manga ever gets its act together and finishes properly, I'll be replacing this Author's Note with a proper chapter (though canon events may or may not render my ideas unfeasible). And I'm not entirely done with this Book, either; stay tuned for a bonus chapter…


	6. Bonus: Tiida the Tamer

**SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS**

The Pokégirl project is the creation of… _so_ damn many authors and artists, I have no idea who to credit to for the disclaimer…

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES

This chapter takes place simultaneous with Team Illya's adventure in Alola.

 **-** ** _CHAPTER START_** **-**

 **Realm PKG-37**

Tiida straightened out the orange-lined white jacket of his Barrier Jacket as he walked through the forest-bordered field, eyes sharp as he looked out for any trouble, making his way toward the town several kilometers ahead (he couldn't see it, but the presence of so many life-forces in one place made a useful 'beacon' to sense and follow). He could also sense a few beings watching him from a distance, in the trees or behind rocks, curious but not brave enough to approach.

He remembered the briefing he'd read about this newly-discovered Realm – how this world was basically a living "x-rated parody" of the Pokémon world he & the others had been to not too long ago. "Pokégirls", sapient near-human beings who played the role of Pokémon in this world, with a major 'adult' spin on things, with some of them even being basically sexualized parody-equivalents of some Pokémon species, complete with obscene twists on the names…

Still, darkling activity had been detected on this world, so Tiida had been sent in to clean them out and investigate. Speaking of which…

Tiida stopped as he sensed the building malice around him, drawing and readying Aster. Within seconds, several dark portals formed as a large squad of Heartless & Unversed appeared – Soldiers, Scrappers, and a few Neoshadows as commanders. A couple of Soldiers made to charge in willy-nilly, only for a Neoshadow to snap at and 'rebuke' them, directing them not to break ranks yet.

Waiting to see which of them would make the first move, Tiida almost didn't sense and react in time to a few fire-blasts from above – a pack of Red Nocturnes led by a Vermillion Samba. As he fired a ki blast at them, making them scatter to avoid it, the ground-bound Heartless rushed in at him. He ducked to avoid a flying kick from a Soldier, then used his Device to block a Scrapper's claw-strike and then stabbed it through the chest before it could fall back, destroying it. A Neoshadow leapt up from a 'shadow-port' directly behind him, but he spun and blocked its claw-swipe, kicking it away, and then leaping to the side to dodge another fireball from the Heartless hovering above. He channeled chakra and stomped his foot to the ground, and a spar of rock jutted up from below and impaled a Soldier, destroying it. Another Soldier tried to kick him again, but he caught it by the ankle, slammed it to the ground, and stabbed Aster's energy blade down through its head.

Suddenly, a new player entered the game. As a pair of Armored Knights spawned in and leapt at Tiida together, a figure dashed in and, with a swing of her sword, cut them both down before they even realized she was there. She appeared to be a young woman around 19-23 years old, around 5'4" or so in height, with brown eyes (and, upon closer inspection, apparently dark-brown pupils) and dark midnight-blue hair hanging loose down to her shoulders, a slender build but with some lean muscle and moderately large breasts. She was wearing a deep-blue robe with white swirl-pattern on it, and was armed with a chokutō with a red-lined black handle. Tiida found his eyes drawn to the girl's elegant yet firm beauty, while the newcomer tried not to stare at how handsome this man was…

After a few seconds, another few Armored Knights spawned in. A Neoshadow tried to ambush the girl, but she leapt away and took position beside Tiida.

"What _are_ these things?" she asked him. "I can feel their… _wrongness_ , like shadows and hunger given form."

"They're called Heartless" Tiida replied. "They're creatures of darkness born when a person's Heart is consumed by darkness, though supposedly the 'Pureblood' strains can also come into being spontaneously in the Realm of Darkness they call home." He pointed out the Scrappers. "Though, those are Unversed – people's negative emotions given life and form by dark power. There's a third type, white creatures called Nobodies, created from the leftover physical essence and life-force of a strong-willed person who became a Heartless. …The Heartless seek to devour people's Hearts and make more of themselves, as well as to seek out and consume the Hearts of entire Worlds."

The girl nodded. "Then we must put them down before they can cause havoc. I am Sanae."

"Tiida Uchiha-Lanstar; both of my parents came from prestigious clans, so I choose to use both names."

More Heartless then started spawning in – Air Soldiers, basic Shadows, a few Blue Rhapsodies, Driller Moles, a team of Bizarre Archers, a pack of Magnum Roaders…

"Jeez…" Tiida murmured. "Usually only Keyblade-wielders get beset by _this_ many at once… Might as well let the gang out to have their share."

Confused, Sanae turned, and eyes widened slightly as Tiida pulled out three Poké-Balls.

"You're a Tamer?" she asked.

The orange-haired young man grinned. "I'm a dimensional traveler. And one of the worlds my friends & I recently visited was the world of Poké _mon_ …"

He sent out his team; Rockruff and Drilbur took ready stances, while a Scrapper's ambush attempt was foiled as Kenji the Gallade took the Unversed's head off. Sanae stared in amazement, and more-so as Tiida's aura flared lightly around him, chakra at the ready. The Blue Rhapsodies fired ice blasts at him, but he wove hand-seals and spat out a _Katon: Hōsenka_ barrage that destroyed all but two of the floating blue Heartless.

'He's a chi-user, too?' Sanae thought. 'And he can even convert his chi into elemental attacks; that's incredibly rare for a human… though perhaps not as much wherever he comes from…'

The Driller Moles went underground to try an ambush, but Drilbur went in after them, engaging in a subterranean battle that he was soon winning. Meanwhile, Rockruff launched Rock Throws at the fire-type floating Heartless, already smacking two of them out of the sky. Kenji's elbow-blades glowed purple as he used Psycho Cut and his well-honed speed to cut through the Magnum Roaders. Tiida and Sanae started cutting down the other Heartless as they all charged, and with a swing of her blade she released a wave of slicing wind that vanquished two more Scrappers, while Tiida broke another one's neck with a kick.

A Brick Break from Kenji snapped an Armored Knight's blade in two when it attempted to block, enabling the Gallade to hit it with a close-range Psychic sledgehammer blow. He ducked under a Blue Rhapsody's ice-blast, then gave Rockruff a boost up to let the rock-dog Bite the enemy and fling it around. Drilbur resurfaced with a rising Metal Claw that killed the last Driller Mole, and Tiida conjured a 'small' wave of Crossfire Shot bolts that took out the Neoshadows and the last of the Scrappers.

'He uses chi _and_ magic?' Sanae stared in surprise, until she was snapped back to reality as she narrowly dodged a Soldier's flying spin-kick and used her blade to chop another one's head off.

Faced with all this resistance, the Heartless didn't last much longer. Soon, the last one fell, a Red Nocturne struck down by Kenji's Vacuum Wave attack. With the area clear, everyone settled down, Tiida's Pokémon gathering around.

"Well fought, warrior" Kenji telepathically 'spoke' to Sanae. "Your skill with a blade is commendable."

Sanae bowed in thanks; already, she was starting to get used to these 'Pokémon', especially the gallant swordsman before her. (Plus, the little rock-dog was _adorable_ …)

"Indeed" Tiida chimed in, his smile making Sanae feel a strange warmth inside. "You were a big help. I wasn't expecting to run into a skilled swordswoman."

"It is natural to me, due to my race" Sanae replied. "I am a type of Pokégirl called a Ronin."

Tiida's eyes widened a little; Sanae looked totally human… Calling up his Omnitool, he tapped into this Earth's internet and looked up the 'Ronin' Pokégirl race – "Very Near Human", picky about their Tamers, evolved from the 'Slicer' and able to evolve into the 'Samurai', natural sword-users who, in an emergency, could conjure simple weapons…

"Are you… someone's partner?" he asked.

Sanae shook her head. "I am technically 'wild', though I occasionally stop by one of the nearby settlements to…" she blushed faintly "keep from going Feral…" 'Though it _has_ been a while…'

"…Well! I'd say you've earned a bit more of an explanation about where I came from and who I represent."

Over the next while, Tiida and Kenji told her about the Dimensional Defense Force and their enemies. Sanae was especially enamored by tales of the Pokémon world, how similar yet different it was to this world (especially the phenomenon of "Mega Evolution", and the tales of Legendaries that had no 'equivalents' here – a millions-years-old guardian dragon, living manifestations of Concepts, an extradimensional light-eating invader…). And as they talked, and she got to hear more about what he'd accomplished, what he was like, spent longer in his presence, she was slowly, unconsciously moving closer to him, wanting to be near him…

"I think we need to get a move on now," he said as he recalled his trio back into their Poké-Balls, "head for the nearby town and see if anyone's got any clues about the Heartless around here."

"Um…" the brave and composed sword-wielder fidgeted a little, a faint pink to her cheeks. "Perhaps I could go with you… I believe I know the place which you are referring to, and I could… serve as a guide, perhaps?"

"Hmm… Alright, then! Happy to have you! Now, let's get a move on…"

- _Break_ -

As Tiida and Sanae walked through the town, the latter pointing out points of interest (inns, shops, and whatnot), the traveler looked around at the various Pokégirls accompanying and interacting with humans – some of them furry and bestial, some of them looking almost artificial or mechanical, a few who were virtually indistinguishable from humans… As the duo moved about, they also asked people (human and Pokégirl) if they'd seen any Heartless or anything else unusual, and it turned out that a few of them _had_ seen what Tiida knew were Heartless skulking about, but had no idea what they were up to.

After a couple hours, the sun was starting to set, and so the two of them headed back out of town. Finding a secluded spot, Tiida took out the small storage capsule his uncle had leant him, activating and tossing it, a burst of smoke revealing a 'small' hut/house with the Capsule Corp. logo on it.

"I'll never get over how useful this tech is…" he said to himself.

They went inside, finding a cozy little space around the size of a small apartment, a den/bedroom area with a couch and two beds bordering a little kitchen and a bathroom. Tiida set up a few security wards just in case, let his three Pokémon out to relax, and then he & Sanae made themselves at home.

"So, you're basically on your own?" Tiida asked.

"Yes" Sanae nodded. "I've always worried that having a master might leave me unable to travel or train as much as I enjoy. And, I've never… quite found anyone I wanted to 'belong' to, someone with the strength, kindness, and gallant honor that I'd want to be _their_ Pokégirl."

"Do you… think you'll ever find the right person?"

"I…" the Ronin blushed, looking oddly bashful. "I believe… I finally _have_ …"

Scooting closer to him, she took his hand in both of hers and looked at him with a shy yet slightly pleading expression. Tiida gasped softly as he got the implication.

"Me?" he asked softly. "Are you sure about this, Sanae? It would mean…"

She gave a little nod and a small, adorable smile. "I… I want to _belong_ to you… Tiida…"

Reaching into her robe pocket, she pulled out something she'd kept hold of for a long time but was starting to think would never be utilized: an unused Cherish Ball, gleaming red in the capsule-house's lights. She placed it in his hand, and Aster went ahead and registered/'linked' it to her wielder. Coming to his decision, Tiida very gently 'bopped' her with the Cherish Ball. The Poké-Ball sprang open, and with a rushing sound Sanae apparently dematerialized into a mass of light that was sucked inside. The ball snapped shut, twitched a couple of times, and then the central button flashed green.

After a few seconds, Tiida triggered the Cherish Ball and let Sanae out, and right away she leaned in close and hugged him, letting out a soft sigh as she relaxed in his arms. She then chuckled softly as Tiida's Rockruff jumped up to join the cuddles (while Drilbur was helping Kenji get dinner started).

"I'm looking forward to accompanying you wherever you may go… Master."

- _Break_ -

That night, Tiida got another surprise as, instead of taking the other bed, Sanae came over to his as he was about to lay down. The Ronin was fidgeting a little, and seemed a bit restless.

"Tiida… Now that you're my Tamer… um… I-It's been a while since I… had 'help' to keep from starting to go Feral… so…"

Blushing brightly, she climbed into bed with him, unfastening her deep-blue robe to reveal she had _nothing_ on underneath…

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

The next day, Tiida and Sanae were never apart for more than a minute, the Ronin happily clinging to her new Tamer, who was equally happy to hold and be with her. They mostly stayed inside, the defensive and scanning wards showing no signs of Heartless activity…

"Sir!" Kenji suddenly came jogging over. "I can sense something relatively nearby. It doesn't feel like a darkling, but… it still feels wicked and twisted, feral and savage, bloodlust and fury and ravenous hunger… Something that 'feels' like this must be dangerous."

Tiida's expression hardened. "Then we should check it out, ASAP. Let's go."

Tiide & Sanae hurriedly got dressed, and then they & Kenji headed out, following the Gallade's lead. Soon, they crossed the grassy field and approached the treeline, the shadows and dense trees preventing them from getting a good look at what was in the woods. But whatever it was, it was making a lot of noise – thuds, rustling leaves and crunching bark, bestial snarls… Tiida readied Aster, Sanae drew her chokutō, and Kenji's elbow-blades glowed with stored power.

Suddenly, something came dashing out from the trees – an odd-looking girl, with reddish-pink skin and blood-red hair that looked more like strands of razor, faintly-glowing blue eyes, claws on the ends of her fingers & toes, clad in little more than a few leather straps to cover her intimate parts. She had a look of utter panicked terror on her face as she fled as fast as she could.

"A Penance?!" Sanae gaped. "W-Why would she… be…"

And then, Sanae's shock at seeing a Penance turned to _horror_ as she saw what the Penance was fleeing from.

"…What in the Saint's name is _that_?" Tiida murmured, activating his Sharingan.

The creature that came barreling out from the tree-line, smashing a couple trees out of its way, looked like a huge demonic spider-centaur. The humanoid upper body was jet-black and covered in pieces of thick and spiky chitinous armor plating, with a few wisps of white hair crowning a head with eight glowing-red eyes, a mouth split open at the chin to form mandibles with huge toxic fangs. It had four arms, an upper pair humanoid in structure but with chitinous claws, and the lower pair ending in long, curved bone-blades. The spider-form lower body had black fur with a huge red hourglass shape on the back, with eight massive, chitin-armored legs that dug divots into the earth as the creature ran.

Seeing the most infamous, most feared creature on the Pokégirl Earth, Sanae trembled, her hand on a white-knuckle grip on her sword's handle. As it emerged into the clearing in pursuit of its intended meal, the creature stopped, sniffed the air, and then stared at the trio. It let out a menacing snarl, feeling a combination of rage at other life-forms and glee at the prospect of even more meat. With a hissing roar, the Widow charged.

"Scatter!" Tiida shouted, as he and his two partners leapt to the sides to dodge the spider-monster's charging tackle. Looking around, he saw the 'Penance' on the ground, quivering in terror while holding a hand to her right foot; she'd stepped in a hole mid-run and rolled her ankle. Quickly, he sent out his Drilbur and Rockruff.

"Protect her!" he pointed to the fallen Pokégirl.

The two Pokémon nodded and hurried over to the startled Penance, taking protective stances between her and the monster that had been trying to make her its lunch. Meanwhile, Tiida fired a wave of Crossfire Shot bolts at the Widow as it charged at him, but the beast powered through the hits with barely a flinch. A surprise Brick Break to the side of the head from Kenji had more of an effect, stunning the monster and almost making it trip over itself. The Widow shook off the hit, snarling at the Gallade and taking a swing at him, but he proved too quick to hit as he leaped away.

Sanae swung her blade to release a 'Vacuum Wave' attack, the wind-blade hitting the Widow in the flank but not cutting very deep into its spidery hide. The monster turned its attention to the sword-wielder trying to attack it, and opened its jaws wide as it spat out a concussive blast of highly corrosive toxic acid. Sanae hurriedly dashed out of the way, as the grass where she'd been standing sizzled and burned, the surrounding grass quickly turning brown and dying. Tiida threw a kunai with an explosive tag, sticking into the Widow's armor on its upper back and detonating. The armor was scorched and chipped, but still held strong, and the beast had no serious injuries to show for it.

"Might have to start hitting it with the heavier stuff, boss!" Kenji said as he made hit-&-run strikes with Psycho Cut and Night Slash.

Nodding, Tiida crossed his index & middle fingers and gathered chakra: " _Doton: Kagé Bunshin!_ "

Two masses of earth and stone rose up from the ground, forming into Earth Release Shadow Clones of Tiida. As they rushed in, the original then wove more hand-seals and pressed his palm to the ground:

" _Doton: Dojū Tsuiga_!"

This time, the earth & rocks formed into a quartet of attack hounds which rushed in to start harassing the Widow, leaping and flowing around its attempts to impale them with its spider-legs' tips. As Kenji hit the Widow in the face with a Vacuum Wave, to little effect, Tiida gathered chakra of a different nature in his body, rearing back and then letting loose:

" _Katon: Gōkakyū_!"

The Widow actually seemed to double-take in shock as it saw the fireball as big as itself rushing toward it. Knowing it had no time to dodge, the creature huddled down and crossed its arms in front of its head to protect its face. As the fireball struck, the beast roared in pain and rage, trying to weather the storm. The flames faded into embers, revealing that the Widow now bore several scorch marks on its chitin-armor and a few burns on its pitch-black hide.

Even more enraged now, the Widow let out an echoing roar as a black & purple aura clung to it; Tiida gasped as he recognized the power of Darkness. Had this rampaging creature somehow become 'attuned' to the Heartless trying to invade this world?

Sanae dashed in and struck at the joint of one of the Widow's spider-legs, cutting partway through and then getting distance before the monster could retaliate. Then, Kenji rushed in and swung a Psycho Cut at the weak-spot, severing the beast's leg. The Widow screeched in fury, adjusting its three remaining left-side legs to maintain balance, and fired a blast of acid that the Gallade narrowly dodged.

Tiida channeled mana into Aster's energy blade, making it nearly triple in size. He rushed forward, and just as one of his earth-hounds was crushed by the Widow's stomping strike he swung the blade. The Widow screeched as he cut across its chest & stomach, breaking through its chitin-armor and leaving a glowing-hot scar. It then swung its scythe-arms at him, and one of his Earth Clones leapt in and shoved the original out of the way, taking the hit and being shattered into chunks of stone & soil. Sanae threw an exploding-tag kunai at the beast, the resulting explosion scarring the monster's spider-body on the upper back. The Widow then spun while lashing out, and the Ronin grunted in pain as a spider-leg the size of a tree-limb smacked into her gut, sending her tumbling away; she managed to stop her roll and right herself, grimacing as she held a hand to her midsection.

'No major damage,' she thought, 'but that's definitely gonna bruise…'

The Widow was about to stomp over toward Sanae and try to finish her off before she caught her breath, but Kenji intercepted with a Night Slash across the front of its spider-body, leaving another wound. Then, however, as it spun around to try to track him, the Widow caught sight of the Penance and the two Pokémon guarding her. Remembering its original prey, the beast fired a concussive blast of acid at them…

The Penance squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the end, but it didn't come. When she opened her eyes, she was shocked to see the orange-haired human standing in front of her facing the Widow, the acid-blast striking and being repelled by an increasingly-coherent surging red-orange aura around him. Tiida's Eternal Mangekyō eyes glared at the beast as his Form-2 Susanō finished forming, the spectral guardian forming its shield and crossbow.

"Enough is enough" he proclaimed.

The Widow roared in defiant challenge, starting to charge. In response, Tiida's Susanō formed & fired a huge chakra arrow. The ethereal projectile pierced almost all the way through the Widow's spider-body, and it shrieked in enraged pain as its spider-half collapsed. Hissing in agony and fury, the beast still glared with insane hatred at the human interloper, trying to charge up another blast of acid and dark power…

…And then Sanae leapt onto its upper back and, before it could react, drove her chokutō through its head from behind. The blade pierced through the monster's brainstem, the tip emerging from the center of its head between its two primary eyes. Tiida relaxed the chakra he'd been focusing to cast _Amaterasu_ , watching as the Widow finally went silent. Sanae pulled her blade free and leapt off as the Widow's corpse fell to the earth with a thud. The Ronin made her way over to her Master, joined by Kenji.

"That could've been worse" she said. "We never gave it the chance to use its Hyper-Venom on us. That would've been guaranteed death."

The three of them then turned their attention over to the Penance, who was frozen in place from a combination of ever-present skittish fear and slack-jawed _awe_ at what she'd just witnessed. Tiida called up his Omnitool and tapped into the planet's internet again, looking up 'Penance'. His face shifted through various unhappy expressions as he learned how Penances came to be and how flighty, terrified, and 'damaged' they were. He would have to be very cautious and patient here…

Tiida's Rockruff was letting the Penance hug him close for security. Tiida very slowly began to approach, but the Penance stiffened and trembled; she knew her ankle wouldn't let her run away successfully, especially after seeing how fast this human could move, and his 'Pokémon' comforting & guarding her were also keeping her in place. Tiida stopped several paces away, raising his hands up.

"Easy…" he spoke softly. "We're not going to hurt you, I promise. I'm Tiida; I'm a dimensional traveler, part of a group of people from different Realms who help each other and stop evil forces from causing trouble. This is Sanae, a 'Ronin' Pokégirl, and these are my Pokémon – Drilbur, Kenji the Gallade, and you're holding Rockruff."

"Why don't you let us take a look at that ankle?" Sanae suggested, trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible. "We can keep you safe until you're all healed."

"And once your foot's all better, if you want to leave, we won't stop you."

The Penance knew she was helpless and couldn't escape, so she gave a tiny nod, still trembling. Tiida slowly walked over as his Rockruff hopped out of her lap, and she stiffened and squeaked – or would have, if becoming a Penance hadn't rendered her mute – as he knelt down and scooped her up, standing with her in his arms bridal-style. Quivering in fear, she looked up at his warm, kind smile, and a faint blush formed on her cheeks (hard to tell due to her reddish-pink skin). She then startled as Sanae came over, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax…" Sanae said. "It's okay. We'll take care of you, keep you safe."

The mute Pokégirl's blush deepened a bit as she beheld Sanae's striking beauty and warm kindness. Tiida, meanwhile, spoke to his team:

"Keep an eye out for any Heartless that might've been drawn by the… commotion" he looked back at the Widow corpse. He then smiled down at the Penance in his arms as they started walking back toward the capsule-house. "We'll get your foot taken care of, and… Well, I have a little sister, and I may have some of her spare clothes in subspace storage; a big brother's gotta be prepared for anything, after all. Since you're only about an inch or so shorter than her, we can let you wear them, have something a bit more covering and comfortable than those leather straps you're in." He smirked. "The top might be a little bit loose, though; Teana is… 'gifted'."

As Tiida carried her, the Penance's razor-strands hair steadily reverted into normal hair, her claws changing into normal hands & feet. For some reason, these people made her feel… safe, just a little bit…

- _Break_ -

Back at the capsule-house, Sanae had helped the Penance change into plain teal panties, a brown knee-length skirt, and a loose dull-orange top. The silent Pokégirl was now seated on the couch, holding her injured foot out as Tiida scanned it. Now that he got a good look at her, she couldn't be older than 19 or 20, and her features and slightly-petite build added to her youthful cuteness.

"Well," he said, "there's no major damage, no torn ligaments or whatever. It'll probably just be sore for a couple of days. And as I said, you can stay here with us for as long as you want; we'll look after you until you want to leave, and I promise we won't force you to stay."

The Penance nodded, carefully tucking her leg back in. She startled a little as Sanae came over and sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Do you… remember your name?" the Ronin asked.

Nodding, the Penance opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She started to tear up; she'd succumbed to her ex-master's abuses and 'evolved' into a Penance less than a week ago, and it was still sinking in that this meant she'd never be able to speak again. Tiida handed her a pen & paper, and with a slightly-shaky hand she wrote her name, showing it to them.

"Mira…" Tiida read. "It's a pretty name."

Mira blushed faintly again, especially when Sanae's smile joined Tiida's. But as Sanae scooted a little closer to make room for Tiida on her other side, laying her head on her master's shoulder, Mira reflexively huddled against the far end of the couch, still skittish. Seeing their looks of concern, she also felt guilt at having possibly offended them, causing her to curl up into a ball.

Getting an idea, Tiida wrote down a quick note and then sucked it into _Kamui_ -space. A few minutes later, he 'felt' something being sent into the shared subspace, and ejected it. Still curled up, Mira was startled as something soft gently poked at her arm. Raising her head, she saw as a pink stuffed bunny plushie was being offered to her. After several cautious seconds, she reached out and took hold of it. Slowly, almost entranced, she hugged it close, half-burying her blushing face in it. Already, just holding and hugging the cute plushie was starting to calm her down, reviving a long-lost sense of security.

Sanae decided to try a little boldness. Getting up, she came over to Mira and gently coaxed the girl to slide a little ways away from the right end of the couch. Then, she slotted herself in, drawing a soft gasp and a skittish stiffening from the Penance. Sanae's arm gently went around Mira's shoulders, and Mira tightened her hold on the plushie and tried not to tremble as she was guided to lean against the Ronin. Gradually, her body relaxed, the Ronin's softness and warmth and welcoming presence soothing her a little. Next, Tiida came in on the other side, and Mira squeaked (or tried to) and hid her face in the pink bunny-toy as she ended up seated between the two of them, their strength and warmth 'pinning' her. As she slowly settled down, their closeness started bringing up certain feelings besides skittish fear, her cheeks going red.

Over the next while, Tiida explained to Mira about the DDF, where he came from and who he represented, their members and allies and various enemies, leaving her shocked and amazed. As the hours passed, the skittish girl steadily became more and more at ease in their presence, her constantly-tense body relaxing steadily, actually feeling _safe_ after going so long without that she'd forgotten what being safe felt like. She still couldn't bring herself to stop holding and hugging the cuddly pink bunny plushie, though, partly because hugging it made her feel secure and partly because she could bury her face in it to hide whenever she blushed…

'T… They're so… _nice_ … and genuine… They're a-actually _worried_ about me… They're both s-so… heroic, y-yet gentle… A-And… he's… r-really handsome, and she's… so pretty…'

- _Break_ -

That night, as Tiida & Sanae got into one bed while Mira took the other, Sanae noticed the Penance – still clutching her bunny plushie – staring at the two of them with nervousness, bashfulness, and what looked like longing. The Penance was still fearful and skittish, but at the same time the day's events had not only taken away most of her nervous fear of Tiida & Sanae (more-so the latter; due to her 'experiences', Mira was even more wary of men than of women), but left her wanting to stay close to them for the feelings of warmth and safety their presence gave her. But she was too skittish and shy to 'ask'…

Smiling, Sanae got up and slowly walked over. "Would you like me to sleep beside you?" she asked the Penance. "Or…" her smile grew "maybe you'd like to share a bed with me _and_ Master Tiida?"

At that, Mira blushed bright-red, trembling from skittish bashfulness and letting out a little gulp. However, when Sanae held out her hand, after several seconds Mira slowly reach out and took it, letting the Ronin pull her to her feet and lead her across to the other bed (still with a noticeable limp from her sore foot). Tiida centered himself in the bed as Sanae climbed up and nestled in against his right side, partially draping herself over him. Slowly, shyly, Mira crawled into bed against Tiida's left side, and then gasped softly as his free arm pulled her a little closer. Blushing brightly, with one arm still cuddling her bunny plushie, she did her best to get comfortable. With the duo's warmth and comforting presence, the secure feeling from her pink plushie, and exhaustion from the day's events, the young Penance soon fell into the most peaceful sleep she'd had in a long, long time.

- ** _Break_** -

The next day, Sanae, Kenji, and Rockruff were patrolling the nearby forest in search of Heartless or dangerous Feral Pokégirls, leaving Tiida and Drilbur home to look after Mira and monitor the long-range sensors. Mira was still a little nervous and skittish around Tiida, but this was fading at what for a Penance was a near-astounding rate, thanks in part to his simple warmth and kindness.

Suddenly, the defensive magic wards' proximity alarm went off, a forward 'camera' revealing a large pack of mixed Heartless nearby outside – mostly foot-soldier level, Soldiers and Armored Knights and a few Darkballs, but led by an Invisible. Tiida and his Drilbur headed outside, and right away the Heartless sensed his magical energy and approached to attack.

An Armored Knight swung one of its arm-blades at Drilbur, who ducked under the strike and countered with a Metal Claw attack, sparks screeching as the attack gouged against the Heartless' armor. He then Rapid-Spun to fling the Armored Knight away, and went underground to avoid a Soldier's flying kick. Tiida, meanwhile, used Aster's energy blade to decapitate an Armored Knight, and then brought it in just in time to block a swing from the Invisible's sword. The blade-wielding Heartless went on the attack, keeping Tiida on the defensive for the moment.

Tiida's Drilbur hit a Soldier in the face, and in its panicked flailing it slashed one of its fellows; the little mole Pokémon then used as Slash to put them both down. A Darkball dove at Drilbur, but he channeled power into the earth below and formed a barrage of big rocks flung at the incoming monster, the Rock Slide attack destroying the darkling. Tiida finally knocked the Invisible's guard aside and split the Heartless in half down the middle, and then used a wave of Crossfire Shot bolts to destroy three Armored Knights.

Then, a second Invisible appeared, along with more Darkballs and a few Shadows. As the remaining Armored Knights mobbed Tiida, the Invisible tried to capitalize on the moment and attack the human from behind. However, Drilbur moved to intercept, claws shimmering silver with Metal Claw energy as he parried the sword longer than he was. The little mole-mon went on the offensive, using his small size and quick speed to weave within the Invisible's guard and hammer the Heartless with blows, Slashes and Metal Claws carving at it. He finished with a Crush Claw to the head that dealt a mortal blow to the Invisible, which fell and disintegrated.

Then, as Tiida cut down the Armored Knights attacking him with a spinning slash, he was caught by surprise as his Drilbur was enveloped in a gleaming white light. The Pokémon's glowing silhouette grew and shifted, going from about a foot tall to over two feet. When the light faded, the Pokémon was larger; had a dark brown body will red scar-shaped markings, a white face with red whisker-marks and a pale-pink nose; his claws had grown and hardened, taking on a more metallic property, and a barbed 'claw' emerged from his forehead, overshadowing his face. Newly evolved and stronger than before, Excadrill looked himself over in awe, and then shot his Trainer a grin.

The Darkballs all flew at Excadrill, fangs chattering. In response, the Pokémon conjured a wall of sand, shrouding himself with it as a barrier. The Heartless smacked into the barrier, the sands abrading them and keeping them in place, and Excadrill lashed out with Metal Claws and slashed them all apart. He then brought his bladed limbs together with his head-claw and started rushing at the Shadows while spinning rapidly, the Drill Run attack cutting through them before they could get out of his way. The remaining Soldiers tried to leapt at him, but Tiida provided covering fire, a widespread _Katon: Hōsenka_ barrage smashing the Soldiers out of the air, killing all but two who were quickly put down by Excadrill's claws. With that, only a single Darkball remained; seeing the odds stacked against it, the Pureblood Heartless retreated through a dark portal. Excadrill came over to his Trainer, who grinned down at him.

"Very well done, buddy" he said, patting the mole-mon's head.

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

Needless to say, the patrol group were quite surprised when they returned to find that a member of Tiida's team had evolved. In any case, they reported no signs of Heartless or Unversed activity beyond the group that had manifested near the capsule-house. However, Sanae reported hearing rumors of a couple less-than-nice people in the area had disappeared without a trace in the past few days; Tiida supposed that those people had been made into Heartless.

Now, two days had passed since that little incident, and Mira's foot was fully healed.

"As we promised," Tiida said to her as they were all in the den area, "we won't make you stay. You're free to go whenever you want. It was nice having you with us…"

However, the Penance did not make to leave. Instead, she sat in place, fidgeting with a soft blush on her face, pressing her fingertips together in a nervous gesture – less "broken, skittish abuse victim" and more "bashful girl trying to say something". Being with Tiida and Sanae and Tiida's Pokémon, even for just a few days, had helped her heal quite a bit. And now…

Mira tried to speak, only for her muteness to block her again. Instead, she cautiously came closer to Tiida & Sanae, trembling with nervousness over what she was about to suggest. She grabbed one of Tiida's spare Poké-Balls, holding it with both hands, and looked up at him with a nervous, bashful, yet pleading expression. Tiida gasped as he got the message.

"Are… Are you sure, Mira? After what you've been through…"

The Penance nodded, a tiny smile on her face. She wanted to be with him & her; they made her feel safe, they were so kind and strong (and, to her, amazingly attractive…), she felt like if she was with Tiida and Sanae, everything would be alright…

Tiida took a breath. "Okay. …But, not with that. Rockruff and Excadrill have regular Poké-Balls because that's what Professor Kukui gave them to me in, but Kenji has a Quick Ball, Sanae has a Cherish Ball… I'd like you to have a special Poké-Ball, too. Here, take a look at the list and pick whichever one you want…"

He activated his Omnitool and called up a list of Poké-Ball types with their associated traits & abilities. Mira looked over the list, and eventually her eyes fell upon a ball with a lovely pink color, two sweeping pastel-yellow curving patterns on either side, a blue central line, and a purple button – a Heal Ball. She selected it, and Tiida sent the request with his Omnitool; he'd just gotten down the trick of using Kamui-space to send data packets, like an FTL comm-bouy relay.

After several seconds, Tiida briefly activated his eyes' transformation to eject the Heal Ball that was sent over to him by Itachi (who was in the Pokémon world chatting with Professor Birch, who was happy to donate an unused ball to the cause). Aster augmented the ball's programming and functions so it could work with a Pokégirl, and then Tiida held the ball out. Taking a deep breath, Mira leaned in close and let him very gently 'bop' her with the ball.

The Heal Ball snapped open, and the Penance seemingly transformed into white light that was sucked in. As the ball snapped shut, it shook in Tiida's hand a few times, and then went still with a soft flash from the central button. He promptly let Mira back out, and she crawled up onto the couch with them and, in an _amazing_ display of trust and security from a Penance, shyly hugged Sanae. Surprised, the Ronin quickly smiled and returned the embrace, waving Tiida over to join. In the arms of her new Tamer and partner, Mira sighed happily, feeling warm and at peace.

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

The next day started out peaceful and uneventful. Just as Sanae happily stayed beside her Master whenever she could, Mira was constantly right next to one of them or both, just basking in their comforting presence. (Incidentally, she hadn't needed any 'Taming' yet, but it was just a matter of time…) Excadrill had gotten fully accustomed to his new form, the increase in strength and speed, though he would have to get used to his new weakness to Fire-, Fighting-, and Ground-type attacks. The immunity to Poison was nice, at least.

Shortly after lunch, however, Aster detected a flare of mystical energies not too far away; it didn't feel like Dark power, and in fact it felt like it was deliberately created to draw attention. The whole gang headed out to investigate, including Mira (partly because she wanted to stay near Tiida & Sanae and partly because she _did_ know how to fight if need be; she'd 'evolved' from a Fighting-type, after all), following the signal through some trees.

Eventually, they reached another clearing. They went on guard as a pack of Shadows, come to investigate the energy they sensed, sprang into view… and then a pillar of light shot down from above and obliterated them. As Tiida and his team shielded their eyes briefly from the light pillar, a voice spoke from within it.

" _Tiida Uchiha-Lanstar… I am Arceus… This creature wishes… to challenge you… to see if you are worthy… of being his Trainer…_ "

(BATTLE MUSIC: _Pokémon Heart-Gold / Soul-Silver_ OST – "Battle! Entei")

The pillar of light shortened and began to fade, revealing a very large quadrupedal beast, somewhat dog-like in structure. The creature had reddish-brown fur but with a cream-colored chest, black metal rings around its legs above off-white paws, a set of what looked like 'wings' of jagged metal protruding out toe sides from its back, was wearing what appeared to be a multicolored metal mask of gold, red, & white, and had a mane of what appeared to be ethereal volcanic ash. He was promised a challenging fight and potentially a worthy Trainer. Sizing up the human and sensing the young man's inner power, the Entei let out a roar of challenge, a few pillars of flame shooting up from the earth around him to add to the intimidating majesty.

Tiida was stunned; a Tier-2 Legendary Pokémon thought he may be worthy to be its Trainer? Granted, Teana had 'earned' a Moltres after saving her from corruption… Steeling himself, he waved Kenji forward, the two of them getting ready.

Entei made the first move, exhaling a column of flames at the two. Tiida and Kenji leapt to the sides to dodge the Flamethrower, and returned fire with a Vacuum Wave and around a half-dozen Crossfire Shot bolts. Entei leapt high to dodge, and then dashed at Kenji with Fire Fangs readied. The Gallade formed a Protect barrier to stop the hit, and countered with a double Slash that pushed the Legendary Beast back. Entei shrugged off the hits, and fired an Extrasensory shockwave to deflect another few of Tiida's mana bolts.

Tiida used _Dojū Tsuiga_ to conjure a quartet of Earth Hounds, sending the constructs to encircle and attack. One of them rushed in, flowed around Entei's attempt to bite it, and tackled the fire-beast in the side. As the others went to attack, though, Entei conjured a Fire Spin, wreathing himself in a wall of spiraling flames. The fire caught the three incoming Earth-Hounds, baking them solid, and Entei then lashed out with blows that crumbled them. The last one circled around again and leapt onto his back, starting to bite and claw, but Entei soon bucked it off and Stomped it apart.

Kenji and Tiida dashed in from either side with Psycho Cuts and Aster's energy blade ready. The Entei moved with swiftness, dodging or using his manacle-rings to block strikes, but he definitely took a few hits. The Legendary Beast suddenly channeled fire power into the ground, and Tiida & Kenji barely leapt away in time to avoid a Lava Plume attack. Entei then stunned Kenji with an Extrasensory strike, and then gathered power for a full-strength Flamethrower. In response, Tiida quickly formed a few seals and focused chakra.

The Legendary Beast's Flamethrower met the human warrior's _Katon: Gōkakyū_ , the two large fire attacks pushing against each other. Before long, Tiida's larger attack steadily pushed Entei's back. The Legendary Beast braced himself as his opponent's flames drew closer, and then abruptly cut off his attack and sprang away at the last moment. Before he could get his bearings, though, Kenji dashed in and struck with a withering barrage of Close Combat strikes. Snarling in pain, Entei formed a Fire Spin around himself, catching Kenji with part of it as the Gallade leapt away.

Tiida came in close, blasting Entei with a close-range cluster of Crossfire Shot bolts, but couldn't avoid the Legendary Beast's follow-up tackle that shoved him back and knocked the wind out of him. Kenji came to his Trainer's rescue, forcing Entei back with a Dual Chop, and then he used Double Team to create several illusory duplicates, with Tiida using False Silhouette to follow suit. Entei dove in amongst the illusions, using Bites and Fire Fangs to dispel them, trying to find and catch either of his opponents. By chance he saw the real Kenji coming with a Night Slash and narrowly avoided the strike, lashing out with a double-kick that knocked the Gallade back, but this left him open to a slash from Tiida's mana-blade.

As Kenji got back on his feet, Tiida leapt back and started charging magical power. Sensing this, the Gallade focused on defending his Trainer, stopping Entei's charge and hitting the fire-beast with a Drain Punch to restore a little stamina. Kenji fought valiantly, taking hits and dealing them in turn, as Tiida quickly gathered a sizable amount of magical power. Finally, it was ready. Pointing Aster and the mass of orange magical power forward, he fired:

"Phantom Blazer!-!"

While Teana seldom used her Phantom Blazer attack, usually relying on it as a weaker alternative to her Divine Buster, Tiida had honed _his_ Phantom Blazer to be equal to a Divine Buster in power. Kenji leapt away a split-second before the huge orange beam of magical power crashed into Entei with overwhelming force. After several seconds, the beam cut out to reveal the battered Legendary Beast growling weakly and barely on his feet.

Seeing his chance, Tiida pulled out an Ultra Ball and threw it. As he saw the ball coming, Entei finally let out a satisfied huff and a small smirk. The ball hit, and the Tier-2 Legendary was sucked in. Falling to the ground, the Ultra Ball rocked back & forth for a few seconds, and then went still with a soft chime. Panting softly from exertion, Tiida walked over and picked up the ball, gazing at it in his hand.

'I… I have a Legendary…'

He and Kenji headed back over to the others who'd been watching the whole battle with awe, especially the two Pokégirls; if Legendary Pokémon were as big a deal as Legendary Pokégirls, what their Master just accomplished was truly incredible.

"Let's head back," he told them with a smile, "and get our new teammate patched up."

 **-** ** _Break_** **-**

The next day, late in the morning, Tiida and Sanae were wandering around the nearby town again, shopping around and keeping an ear to the ground for any hints of the Heartless. Mira had elected to remain in her Pokéball; the Penance may have started to heal, but the thought of being around so many people still terrified her. So far they'd heard nothing of note…

Suddenly, Kenji's ball began to vibrate. Tiida heard the Gallade's psychic voice in his head:

'Sir, I can sense Heartless. It feels like they're nearby!'

Extending his extra 'senses', Tiida quickly detected the feel of Darkness in the vicinity, of a kind unique to the Heartless. He turned to Sanae, who nodded with a firm expression and gripped the hilt of her blade. The two of them hurried through streets and down alleys, and as they reached a much more sparsely populated section of town, he let Kenji and Mira out to join them in the hunt.

Kenji led them to a near-abandoned sector of the little town, toward the edge. As they rounded a corner and came across an old warehouse's parking lot, they stopped in shock as they saw a pair of Invisibles hovering around a kneeling man. Mira's eyes widened while her pupils constricted, instinctive terror flaring up as she saw her old Tamer, the man who'd abused her to the point of evolving her into a Penance. …And she watched, stunned still, as his body dissolved away into mots of light & darkness while a fist-sized mass of heart-shaped light wreathed in tainted darkness floated up out of him. An Invisible raised his claws hand, and more darkness coalesced around the extracted Heart. Soon, the darkness took shape, a newborn Darkball floating there, chattering at the higher-ranked Pureblood Heartless.

Turning and noticing their 'audience', the two Invisibles began to float/fly away, leaving the Darkball to vanish through a shadow-port back into the Realm of Darkness. Tiida & his team gave chase, as the Invisibles led them out of town and into the grassy, rocky fields of the surrounding wilderness. And then, once the human & his partners crossed a certain threshold, a dark barrier suddenly sprang up, encompassing an area around 350 meters across, trapping them inside.

Four more Invisibles appeared, and then the six Pureblood Heartless stabbed their swords into the earth, forming a circle. After a second, a roiling pillar of Darkness, black & purple power, burst up from the ground. Tiida blanched as he sensed a _massive_ dark power emerging within.

"Oh, this ain't gonna be good…" he muttered, readying Aster and sending out Rockruff, Excadrill, and Entei, his partners readying for a fight as well; Mira was trembling slightly from sensing the dark power, but as a former Fighting-type she was less bothered by the thought of combat than of being around people.

(BOSS MUSIC: _Kingdom Hearts 2.5_ OST – "The Corrupted")

The dark pillar faded to reveal a humanoid Heartless between 7-8 feet tall, with a muscular build and a large, heart-shaped hole in its chest. It looked a lot like an Invisible, but 'evolved'. Raised portions and ridges on its bluish-black skin gave it an armored appearance. Large, spiked horns on the sides of its head, along with two more from its forehead that made a rough heart shape, faded from black to red to yellow, looking like heated metal. It had a long, thin tail ending in a bladed fin with a diamond-shaped hole in it. Its two-toed, clawed feet stood upon swirling vortexes of white energy, upon which it floated a few inches off the ground. There was a pair of undersized purple bat-like wings on its shoulders, and dull-purple tendrils wrapped around its throat looked like a scarf, draping down on either side of its heart-hole, along with burning-yellow tendrils around its wrists. Lastly, it was wielding a pair of huge blue swords with hook-like extensions near the tips and exaggerated gold hilts. As its glowing yellow eyes appraised the warriors of Light before it, it let out a soft hiss despite not having a mouth.

This was one of the rarest, most powerful and skilled species of Pureblood Heartless: a Dark Inferno.

The Dark Inferno charged forward with lightning speed, its six Invisible subordinates following in its wake. Tiida barely brought Aster's blade up in time to block a sword-strike from the alpha Heartless that made his arms briefly tingle from how much force it had. The Dark Inferno followed up with a rapid barrage of strikes and stabs, forcing Tiida to give ground as he blocked and parried. Each of the Invisibles, meanwhile, took on one of Tiida's team; Sanae locked blades with an Invisible in a hectic duel, Mira formed her claws to block and parry another's blows and try to strike at its face, Kenji had X-Scissors lit up and was pushing his Invisible back, Entei shrouded himself in a Fire Spin to weaken the Invisible attacking him, and Rockruff & Excadrill had paired up to handle their opponents together.

Tiida fired a wave of Crossfire Shot bolts at the Dark Inferno, and the Heartless used its blades to bat the incoming mana-projectiles away, only to leave itself open to a ki-enhanced punch that sent it flying back. It regained control, and this time it was on the defensive as Tiida struck hard and fast with Aster's mana-blade, battering away at the alpha Heartless' guard and soon landing a couple hits. The Dark Inferno quickly recovered, though, stopping Tiida's assault with a whirling spin-attack to force him back, and then charging with blades crossed forward and glowing with a red aura. Tiida flew up, barely avoiding being quartered, and spat out a Great Fireball down at the Heartless, but the monster dashed to the side to dodge.

Kenji managed to hit his Invisible opponent with a Poison Jab, the effect beginning to steadily weaken the Heartless. Soon, the dark creature's reactions slowed, and this let the Gallade get around its guard and strike with a Close Combat barrage, pummeling the Heartless senseless. He finished with a Leaf Blade strike that took the Invisible's head off. Meanwhile, Entei leapt over a low sword-swing aimed at his legs, and came down with a Stomp onto the Invisible's back, forcing it to the ground. He then wreathed his fangs in flames, a Fire Fang latching onto the Heartless' neck, and he shook it around, snapping its spine. Just in case, he then hit the Invisible with an Extrasensory to finish it off.

The Dark Inferno slammed its twin blades to the ground, and it seemed to come apart into several orbs of black-wreathed white flame. The fireballs flew in formation, chasing Tiida around and trying to hem him in as he flitted about. Finally, they tried to converge on him all at once, and he formed the strongest spherical barrier he could which just barely withstood the hit, breaking apart seconds after the attack was done. The Dark Inferno re-formed and came at him with another rapid barrage of sword-strikes, and this time Tiida met with his own, neither of them pushing the other back.

As Sanae dueled with the Invisible, she finally took advantage of a split-second opening and abruptly kicked the Heartless in the gut, and immediately followed with a Night Slash across the briefly-stunned Heartless' chest, and then chopped the darkling's head off. Mira shifted into a boxing stance, ducked under her opponent's sword swing and got in close, starting to hammer the Invisible with punches. And thanks to the TM her new Tamer had gotten her, each one was a Power-Up Punch, meaning each blow was stronger than the last. The Invisible reeled from the powerful Penance's punishing punches, and Mira finished with a full-force blow to the head that took the Heartless down.

A pair of hunks of stone rose up from the earth and fragmented into a high-velocity stone spear barrage, Tiida's _Doton: Dosō Danmaku_ battering the Dark Inferno's guard, but not doing very much damage. The ki-blast chaser he added in did a bit more, exploding and blasting the alpha Heartless back. The Dark Inferno was then enveloped in a dull purple aura, wavering like flames around it, and it blocked Tiida's next blade strike and countered with a quick and punishing combo that he only partially blocked, wincing as his Barrier Jacket protected him from serious harm. He sent out a few Earth Hounds, but the Dark Inferno spun while releasing slicing waves of red power from its blades, the 'spin attack' cutting the constructs down before they could get close.

Excadrill and Rockruff continued fighting together against the two Invisibles accosting them. One of them stabbed its sword into the ground and transformed into a group of will-o-wisp flames, circling around Rockruff. However, at the last second Excadrill leapt in and formed a swirling barrier of sand around the two of them that the dark fireballs bounced off of, the Invisible being forced to abandon that tactic and reform. The other Invisible tried to strike from above, but Excadrill used his Metal Claws to parry the Heartless' blade, and then Rockruff hit it in the face with a Rock Throw and then latched onto its sword-arm with Bite. The Invisible was soon forced to drop its weapon, and when it shook Rockruff off and went for its dropped sword, Excadrill slammed into it from the side with a Drill Run, boring into the creature's midsection until it disintegrated into darkness particles. The lone remaining Invisible tried to flee, but Kenji dashed in and used an X-Scissor to badly damage it and knock it into a Rock Tomb from Rockruff that finished it off.

The Dark Inferno swung its swords to release slicing waves of dark power, forcing Tiida & his team to duck and dodge, giving it a little breathing room. Kenji recovered first, using a short-range Teleport to close the distance and start striking with Psycho Cuts and Night Slashes. The Dark Inferno took a few hits before managing to fly up & backward to escape, and then dove back down with a charging slash that knocked the Gallade back even though he blocked. A wave of Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_ from Tiida crashed into the alpha Heartless, doing a little more damage, and then Excadrill & Mira double-teamed it with a barrage of dashing Metal Claw strikes.

As the rest of the team rushed in to attack from all sides, the Dark Inferno's purple aura flared up more and turned red, its eyes glowing more brightly. It lashed out with another spin-attack, dark-red slicing waves extending further out than before and hitting harder, smacking all seven of its opponents away. It then went for Mira, who hardened her body as much as she could. Even still, the two heavy sword-strikes it hit her with brought her to the brink of "Poké-fainting", knocking her for a loop. Entei came to her rescue, hitting the Dark Inferno with an Extrasensory, stunning it to let Excadrill get Mira clear, and then a Flamethrower that bathed the Heartless in flames and pushed it into a slash from Sanae.

The Dark Inferno seethed with fury, its twin blades glowing red. It charged at Tiida, smacking Excadrill aside, battering at the mage-shinobi's defenses. Rockruff came to his Trainer's aid, dropping a Rock Tomb on the alpha Heartless and biting one of its wings, but the Dark Inferno reached back, grabbed the little rock-dog, and slammed him into the ground hard enough to knock him out. Then, a Lava Plume from Entei shot up from the ground, blasting the Dark Inferno into the air, where an Aerial Ace strike from Kenji did further damage.

As the Dark Inferno recovered, it turned to see Tiida rushing in, brandishing Aster's mana-blade wreathed in chakra. The alpha Heartless brought its blades up to block, the hit making the very air shudder. Tiida kept pushing, pouring more power in… and then abruptly vanished, along with the force pressing down on the Heartless' blades. As the Sharingan genjutsu fell away, the Dark Inferno was confused for a moment, looking around…

There was a black flash, and the Dark Inferno went still. Slowly, its twin swords dropped from its grip, clattering to the ground and disintegrating into motes of darkness. Pitching forward, the alpha Heartless collapsed to the ground, a huge slash burning with black flames down across its back. Soon, the entity came apart, a mote of light rising from its disintegrating body and winking out.

Panting softly, Tiida dispelled the _Kagutsuchi_ flames from around Aster's mana-blade, his eyes returning to their base state. The barrier encompassing the area shattered and vanished. He looked around, seeing Mira cradling Rockruff, who was coming to, while the rest of his team were battered but still on their feet. Moments later, a new figure appeared on a scene, a girl with long red-orange hair flying in and setting down.

"Hey, _nii-san_ " Teana said. "I sensed that big nasty dark power when I 'ported in, but within seconds it went out. I'm guessing I got here too late to help?"

Grinning, Tiida approached his little sister. "Yeah, we were fighting some super-powerful new kind of Pureblood Heartless, but we just brought it down. Tough fight, though."

"I see Drilbur evolved. And…" she looked at Mira, who was trembling softly from instinctive Penance skittishness at a new person, tempered by realizing this was her Tamer's baby sister.

"Is that my top? …It looks good on you." She turned to her big bro. "You're gonna have to fill me in on what I've missed."

"Will do" Tiida replied, petting his little sister's head, making her blush and fidget at him doing this in front of people. "So, you came by to check on me?"

"That, and to inform you of some good news. Inside Sora, Ven's Heart has finally finished repairing itself. In a couple days, tops, Aqua is going to lead Sora to wherever she stuck Ventus for safekeeping 11 or 12 years ago."

"That's great! We could always use another Keyblade-wielder. …Though, I'm betting Xehanort won't take that lying down."

"Yeah, there've been reports of more sightings of the Organization skulking about. Master Yen-Sid thinks everything's about to finally cook off…"

He sighed. "Let's hope we're ready. Anyway, come on; before we pack up the capsule-house and return to Mid, lemme introduce you to my new… teammates."

The whole group started walking back toward the temporary base-hut, as Sanae and Mira got to know their Tamer's little sister.

- _Break_ -

In two other Realms, Vanitas and Close returned to their respective bases, bearing information they'd each independently gathered from studying the corpse of a fearsome monster. The basic structure and abilities of the Widow could make a useful template for a new Unversed or Grimm…

 **-** ** _BOOK 36 END_** **-**

And with that, Book 36's bonus chapter is done. And unless _Prisma Illya 3rei_ ever finishes, that'll be it for this Book. Next up, things finally reach a boiling point, as the long-destined clash between the Guardians of Light and the Seekers of Darkness begins.

Of course, now we come to the possibility of another few-months hiatus. Why? Re:mind. The _Kingdom Hearts III_ story DLC is slated to come out "this Winter", which could mean anywhere between mid-December and late-March. Either way, the previews hint that Re:mind will contain important new story points that I'll really want to incorporate into Book 37. Of course, there's always the chance I might just crank out the Book based on the vanilla _KH3_ and then edit in the Re:mind stuff later; I'm still undecided…

[Rockruff's Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, Bite, Howl, Rock Throw, Rock Tomb, Façade]

[Excadrill's Moves: Horn Drill, Rapid Spin, Fury Swipes, Metal Claw, Dig, Slash, Rock Slide, Earthquake, Swords Dance, Drill Run, Sandstorm, Rock Tomb, Crush Claw]

[Kenji's Moves: Slash, Close Combat, Leaf Blade, Night Slash, Double Team, Teleport, Fury Cutter, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance, Psycho Cut, Protect, Psychic, Brick Break, Low Sweep, X-Scissor, Poison Jab, Dual Chop, Drain Punch, Vacuum Wave]

[Entei's Moves: Bite, Fire Spin, Stomp, Flamethrower, Fire Fang, Lava Plume, Extrasensory]


End file.
